Are Roman numerals still taught in school?

[bif]

The reason I'm asking is, I'm doing a crossword puzzle and there are a couple clues that involve doing math with Roman numerals. I was thinking, if they don't teach it anymore, kids wouldn't be able to figure out the clues.

[cyberswede]

1. We didn't learn them in school

I can't remember how I learned them - probably from my mom - or from *doing* crossword puzzles. :)

[csziggy]

11. I figured them out so I could understand copyright dates in old books

When I was citing them as references. Never was taught them in school.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. My kids did, but they don't remember them now.

[Evasporque]

3. I haven't used roman numerals in like IX years....

Even then I can think of only IV times I actually used them before that...

[kick-ass-bob]

4. Thank GOD FOR FOOTBALL!!!

Otherwise, no one would know any of them :rofl:

[madinmaryland]

22. Heh!! Football is the only thing teaching kids about Romans and their numbers!!

:rofl:

[geardaddy]

5. Have you noticed that they don't use them

for copyrights in movies or TV anymore?

[some guy]

19. No offense,

but I think you're wrong.

I haven't seen every movie, nor every television show, but I think you'll find they're still there.

The difference is they're shorter numbers now.

MM
MMV
MMX

rather than MCMLXXXVIII type character strings.

We're currently MMXI

[Little Star]

6. Why did we ever need to learn them in the first place? Even..

the Romans gave up on them eons ago.

[cbdo2007]

7. only in Italian schools

[pinniped]

8. You need to know some basic ones for chemistry.

.

[Aristus]

9. I don't remember ever being taught Roman numerals in school.

I attended public schools in the 70's and 80's. No memory of learning the numbers. I learned Roman numerals from Bugs Bunny cartoons. I wanted to know what all of those MCMXLIX and MCMLII's in the opening credits meant. My mother explained the Roman concept of numbers to me. Pretty simple. It took about five minutes to master the system; and this was for a 7 year-old!

Roman numerals: easy as pie to add and subtract.

Sheer torturous, bloody murder to multiply and divide...

[texanwitch]

10. I learned them in school, quess there was a reason.

Kids today only learn the test they have to take.

[LeftyMom]

12. Kids know them so they can read gang tags.

At least in this neighborhood. :shrug:

[DBoon]

29. Your neighborhood has gangs of marauding ancient romans?

Gangstas wearing togas writing "Caesar was here" in spraypaint on the walls?

[LeftyMom]

31. Gangs tag numbers that correspond to their gang all the time.

Usually the numbers come from a street where they got started or something like that. http://www.cityofsacramento.org/code/graffiti/graffiti-faq.cfm#11

[DBoon]

34. Around here, the only number used is "13"

13th letter of alphabet is "M", for "Mexican" (except for MS-13 which is actually a Salvadorean gang)

Never saw a gang tag with roman numerals

Never saw one written in greek letters either, or using mathematical symbols. Maybe in the vicinity of CalTech.

[grasswire]

13. I learned them from collecting old sheet music. n/t

[Riftaxe]

14. unfortunately they do not even teach how to write anymore

so Roman numerals probably fell on the sword first =(

I imagine it is because they could not find any teachers to teach cursive, so counting to 100 would be expecting to much :P

[Kali]

15. no idea

kind of seems like my kids might have had a section on them, but I can't remember and the last graduated several years ago

I know I learned them in school but that was a LONG time ago.

[SwampG8r]

16. in charter schools they are

[Rowdyboy]

17. Hard to expect kids to be taught Roman numerals when cursive writing is considered too hard....

We'll slip and slide into the mudhole of ignorance we deserve.

[Orrex]

21. Cursive writing is taught alongside Carolingian Miniscule

And is only slightly more common in modern daily use.


Other than writing my signature, I haven't used--nor had any reason to use--cursive writing in over twenty years.

[Rowdyboy]

23. How sad for you...

[Orrex]

24. Do you have much need to use cursive writing in daily life? Do tell.

[KT2000]

18. Aren't they necessary

for outlines?
for figuring out when a movie was made in the credits?
Super Bowls?
Naming children? Not Bob Smith 3rd; it must be Bob Smith III
Naming World Wars?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. don't think so. Our young office secretary blurted out the other

day, "What's IV"

So an analyst yelled back, "Intravenous"


She said, "no, IV on this piece of paper."

So the analyst taught her RNs up to ten.

The following week, she blurts out

"What's XI"

[Ikonoklast]

35. The analyst counts by using nurses?

Glad that the number was a small one.

[RushIsRot]

25. When we went bowling back in the 50s, we kept score in Roman numerals.

Just for the hell of it.

[BiggJawn]

26. Only if they're on the State Test.

Otherwise, got no time to teach 'em!

[Zoigal]

27. I always taught them when i was teaching math, plus their history.

And why there was a switch to Arabic numerals. But that was
almost twenty years ago when teachers could be more creative
in their teaching and not have to worry so much about test results......z

[struggle4progress]

28. Sure. They're so incredibly handy in most every situation

[DBoon]

30. They taught them in elementary schools in the 60s

Made learning hexadecimal and octal in computer science classes much easier

[krispos42]

32. Yanno, I don't remember

I remember it was an exercise in computer programming class... make a program (TurboPASCAL) to convert an arabic number into a roman number.



But I think I learned it because my parents taught me at home. I'm not sure, though.



I do know that the Number of the Beast is DCLXVI, which is all the roman numerals in descending order, except for "M".


And why is it "Roman numerals" and not "Roman numbers", anyway?

[bluedigger]

33. I think computers have contributed to their obsolescence.

We used them in archaeology to denote excavation proveniences, i.e. Level I, Level II... Level XII, etc... With the introduction of computer spreadsheets/databases they have fallen into disfavor, though, as they can't be sorted easily.

[UrbScotty]

36. Not sure. Left elementary school XIII years ago. Graduated from high school VI years ago.

[BarbaRosa]

37. I learned them in school.

How ironic, now that the date is easier to figure out it's not used anymore. MMXI

[Darth_Kitten]

38. I once got 100 % on a test....

on Roman numerals. I was 7. :)

[pokerfan]

39. Shouldn't that be

you got C% when you were VII?

[WinkyDink]

40. Not since MCMLXXXVI .