4th Grader Invokes 'Girl Code' To Avoid Answering Common Core Math Question

A wily fourth grader invoked ‘girl code’ to avoid answering her math question, and her response is seriously entertaining the internet.

In high school, Frank, Mike, George, and Ron each went on a total of 4 dates with 4 different girls. The second time Frank dated Rose and George dated Kay. The third time Mike dated Mary and Ron dated Louise. The fourth time George dated Louise and Ron dated Kay. For each of the four times, tell which girl dated which boy.

This is a critical thinking problem that requires charts and notes – and there’s nothing wrong with that. Critical thinking is important, and it will make you great at Sudoku. But what the hell with all the swapping around of partners? That’s the obvious question here. Screw math — why are all these girls dating each other’s boyfriends? That’s what 4th-grader Maddy Douglas wants to know. This is how she answered the problem:

I can’t solve this problem because my mom says according to girl code you shoulden’t [sic] date a friend’s x-boyfriend.

Mom Jenn Douglass proudly posted her daughter’s clever answer to the Huffpost Parents Facebook page, with the comment “My daughter’s answer a problem on her 4TH GRADE math problem last night #girlcodetrumpscommoncore.” She goes on to express her discomfort in the subject matter, and most of the commenters agreed it’s not “appropriate” to mention dating to a fourth grader. Meh. I think if a fourth grader knows about “girl code” then “dating” isn’t out of the question. Doesn’t one kind of lend itself to the other?

Look, girl code IS important, so kudos to mom for teaching it. But if my daughter brought this home I’d be having a little talk with her about her answers, especially after reading the previous problem. The question was “How many different stacks could be made?” It was regarding another word problem. The fourth-grader answered “a lot.”

Oh Maddy, I’m not mad at you. You just may be a comedic genius in the making. Her teacher seems to be nonplussed by her answer — Douglas told Huffpost, “Her teacher laughed at her answer and told her ‘Good point.'”

Common Core is a set of standards that are giving a lot of parents a huge headache. But let’s remember we still have to teach our kids to do the work and respect their teachers. They may not all have a sense of humor like this one.