Compulsory Maths till you’re 18.

Fleurpepper

JaneJudge

All jobs require maths, even low paid employment. Everyone at my manufacturing environment has to use maths, sometimes with varying reliability but they all use maths. I use a maths that wasn't even taught in maths

Exactly, we are not talking about Algebra and trigonometry here- but basic, common sense arithmetics- very difficult to cope in life without.

But shouldn't every schoolchild have learnt enough by GCSE level to use in their future, whatever path they take in life?

It's all a distraction.

Square root of 169 or you lose your bus pass! 🤣

Callistemon21
^ But shouldn't every schoolchild have learnt enough by GCSE level to use in their future, whatever path they take in life?^

Yes, ideally, but as we have read on here, poor maths skills, for whatever reason have been a fact of life for many people since their own childhood.

Pittcity

Square root of 169 or you lose your bus pass! 🤣

"Alexa, what's the square root of 169?"

In my day it was Arithmetic O Level, Maths was separate , which was just as well as could not get to grips with that. I wd say English and Arithmetic till you are 16 , then you wd have basics, which is essential. According to my daughter ( 48 ) who has just finished an add on teaching degree to her English degree ( which she did at 20 ) she wd not have got on course without English and Maths O Levels amongst others which surprised me.

This has been so for a very long time- you can't go on to Uni or Advanced Edu without GCSE maths and English at C or above.

Fleurpepper I’ve known people get on degree courses without maths.

LadyHonoriaDedlock

Pittcity

Square root of 169 or you lose your bus pass! 🤣

"Alexa, what's the square root of 169?"

Every schoolchild in the 1950s could answer that instantly.

I don't think I've ever used it, though, until Rishi asked me 😂

Understanding basic statistics is vital to be able to judge the veracity of reports and ignore false assessments of things like the efficacy of vaccinations.

It is interesting today to compare the attention given to LGBTQIA people with their real, self identified numbers in our population.

I back all diffusion of numeracy to every generation.

If children haven’t grasped the contexts of maths by age sixteen there’s not much point in putting them through two more years. They need only to know basic arithmetic unless going for study or jobs with more demanding concepts.

growstuff. As said, I made a sideway move. The young man was being logical which you can apply around math.

Coco51

If children haven’t grasped the contexts of maths by age sixteen there’s not much point in putting them through two more years. They need only to know basic arithmetic unless going for study or jobs with more demanding concepts.

Or they could be shown how to use the concepts they've already learnt in real life situations. It doesn't need to be advanced maths.

Callistemon21

LadyHonoriaDedlock

Pittcity

Square root of 169 or you lose your bus pass! 🤣

"Alexa, what's the square root of 169?"

Every schoolchild in the 1950s could answer that instantly.

I don't think I've ever used it, though, until Rishi asked me 😂

You have 169 paving slabs. What size patio could you pave with them?

In other words, Callistemon "problems" the practical applications of what they have just learnt to do in theory.

Perhaps the better approach is to start from the other end, the apparently insurmountable problem presented first, and the way to solve it taught next, with other similar "problems" to follow, for practice. Then a mixture of problems which need different operations to solve them.

Sorry, that was to growstuff

growstuff

Callistemon21

LadyHonoriaDedlock

Pittcity

Square root of 169 or you lose your bus pass! 🤣

"Alexa, what's the square root of 169?"

Every schoolchild in the 1950s could answer that instantly.

I don't think I've ever used it, though, until Rishi asked me 😂

You have 169 paving slabs. What size patio could you pave with them?

😂😂😂

That's the kind of question asked at job interviews where they want you to be able to think on your feet!!

growstuff, that reminded me of the time DH went to buy some timber and asked some for 4" x 2". The chap told him they worked in metric now, when DH asked about the price, the man said "It's £1 a foot"
😀

You have 169 paving slabs. What size patio could you pave with them?

Were they freebies? Otherwise I'd work out what size patio I want then go from there ...

I'd want to know the dimensions of the slabs.

Does it include use of some slabs for steps down to the lawn?

I attended a strict catholic school where thumping the children was part of the discipline meted out to us. The maths teacher was a particularly nasty piece of work. So nasty in fact that I passed out and fitted twice in her lessons and remained scared stiff of her in all the rest.
My father was away at sea most of my teens and my Mum had a nervous breakdown so I had no help with homework. In the end the school took me off the GCE O level course and put me on something much more sensible called Proficiency in Arithmetic. Here the teacher also thumped us when we got things wrong, but I was a lot less scared. The course gave us just that, proficiency in arithmetic.
It might surprise some people that I actually ended up teaching Primary aged children. After a number of years I became a Special needs co-ordinator in a Junior school teaching special needs Maths and English. The memory of my terrible time at school and the fear instilled in me helped me to understand the struggles with numbers that the children were having. No child left me without knowing all their tables perfectly etc. I made lessons fun, lots of fun, and safe.

Fleurpepper you don’t always need gcse maths and English to go to university. If folk do an “Access” course this is an acceptable qualification. Family member did that as an adult and was accepted to Manchester University.

volver

I'd want to know the dimensions of the slabs.

Yes, that's a good question obviously.

But firstly - what size patio and what kind of slabs?
I don't want just any old slabs, even if they're free.

Oldbat1

Fleurpepper you don’t always need gcse maths and English to go to university. If folk do an “Access” course this is an acceptable qualification. Family member did that as an adult and was accepted to Manchester University.

Very true I read law at university and I only hot a D in maths O’level

Why not integrate it with useful life skills, like accounting, running a small business, etc. But then the Government probably doesn't want the general public being able to call them out on their dodgy dealings.

effalump

Why not integrate it with useful life skills, like accounting, running a small business, etc. But then the Government probably doesn't want the general public being able to call them out on their dodgy dealings.

Indeed! I'd like all school pupils to study media awareness, which would include how politicians manipulate statistics. My idea of a course would include the influence of "influencers" and how public opinion generally is generally influenced by the media.