The metric system is supposed to be the legal unit of
measure in Canada. The federal government began implementing the system back in
the early 1970's.
The concept of a base 10 system seems relatively simple.
However, the problem is in the conversion.
Here in Canada, my generation (baby boomers) and those
before me, grew up using the Imperial system. We were used to imperial. We knew
how to do things and how to shop for things in imperial. We weighed things in
pounds and ounces. We measured height/distance in inches, feet, yards and
miles. Even our rural roads are generally laid out in miles. We measured land
in acres. We bought liquids in ounces, pints, quarts and gallons. Our recipes
were in teaspoons, tablespoons and cups. Our temperatures were in Fahrenheit.
Over the ensuing years, ALL Canadians were
expected to learn and adapt to grams, kilos, centimeters, meters, kilometers,
hectares, millilitres, litres and Celsius.
I was in junior high at the time, and like many of my
peers, found the system somewhat confusing. Even though we were taught how to convert to metric, our instincts
were more attuned to what we'd already learned of the imperial system.
Adapting to metric was even harder to comprehend for most
of our parents and grandparents!
The general public was provided with conversion charts
and instructions on how to convert the various measures. Note, that this was in
the days long before the internet or mini calculators. We did the conversion in
our heads or with pencil and paper!
It wasn't an easy sell. Despite the best efforts of the
government and those who supported the switch, it has been an expensive and
tedious process to get us to think metric.
Thankfully the system was introduced over several years -
but it hasn't made it any easier to adjust for those of us who grew up with
imperial.
Today - just over 40 years after it was first introduced -
metric is still a bit of a mixed bag in Canada. Some items are sold strictly in
metric while many others are advertized and labeled in both imperial and
metric. Most people have generally gotten used to buying liquids (including
gasoline) in litres, but adjusting from pounds to kilograms, teaspoons to
millilitres and so on is a bit harder.
For instance. an inch is 2.54cm. There are 36 inches is a
yard but the metric equivalent of a yard is a meter which is actually 39.37
inches. Three inches can make a lot of difference! Luckily, most
rulers and measuring tapes are still sold with both metric and imperial!
Even so, measurements can be quite off if you aren't
really careful what/how you are measuring.
This is especially true when it comes to food - both in selling
and in preparation. Some products are labeled in both systems. Dairy, deli and
bulk foods are labeled primarily in metric with only some carrying the imperial
unit price in smaller print. Meat is advertized in pounds with metric in small
print, often labeled in both at the meat counter but sold by the kilo. Produce
is advertized and generally labeled in pounds but sold in kilos. Canned/packaged
products are frequently labeled in both systems.
Temperatures
are reported in Celsius, but many of us still think in Fahrenheit especially
when it comes to oven temperatures. Confusion abounds if you post temperatures
in Celsius on social media sites. The Fahrenheit people in the US and other
countries think that 25C sounds downright cold since many think that means 25F
which would be below freezing. WRONG! 25C is actually a comfy 77F! The formulas
for temp conversion are as follows:
F to
C Deduct 32, then multiply by 5, then
divide by 9
C to
F Multiply by 9, then divide by 5, then
add 32
Confused?
Join the club! Yes, there are all kinds of conversion charts and apps available
for anyone with an internet connection but we should know how to do at least a
little bit of it in our heads or with a pencil and paper shouldn't we?
So, what about those who started school after the
conversion started as well as the youth of today and of the future? I asked
some acquaintances with current connections to schools (teachers and students)
if Imperial is even being taught. To my surprise, only metric is being taught in most Canadian schools. Some
curriculum's offer a very short section within science or math programs on
conversions but many aren't even bothering to teach students how to convert to
either system.
I also learned that some schools aren't even teaching
home economics anymore. Among those that are, the students are maybe getting an 80 minute class once
per week/cycle for a semester! That's not even enough time to get a basic grasp
of cooking let alone preparing recipes! Unless a student has been taught
imperial measures in the home or elsewhere, they have no clue as to what a cup,
tablespoon or teaspoon even are! (FYI, in the 1970's, the home economics
classes in my school were a half day/6 day cycle - half the year in food and
the other half in sewing.)
Given our close economic ties and physical proximity to
the USA - which has not switched to metric - the Imperial measures are still a
dominant force in our society and especially online. So those of us who haven't
adapted can still find pretty much anything we need with a bit of effort.
Back when I was in school, I was quite good in math and
actually understood metric fairly well - I just didn't like the conversion
part. Almost 40 years later, I've
forgotten most of what I knew. I can still do some rough calculations in
conversion while grocery shopping but I often have to stop and think about it
or grab a calculator.
As for the students that are only being taught metric? Yes,
as I stated above, there are umpteen "apps for that" but being able
to do at least some basic math and conversion without the use of apps would go
a long way in educating and preparing younger generations for the future. Without
that, I fear we are raising generations of young people who will be woefully
ill prepared for the realities of living and working in the real world. Not to
mention that their lack of cooking knowledge/skills is leaving them at the
mercy of the convenience/prepackaged world of food.
In the post on September 14. I'll share some thoughts
on cooking in imperial versus metric.
dn
No comments:
Post a Comment