Compulsory Maths till you’re 18.

If you get right into knitting you have to think about yarn substitutions. And amending patterns which are not an exact fit for you, or whoever you are knitting for.

Making sleeves longer and accommodating the required increases. Making sleeves shorter Fitting fair isle patterns or cables into the number of stitches you have. Understanding 3 dimensional shapes so you can make fingers in gloves or turn a heel properly in socks.

It's maths in action !!

ronib

I skip the gauge check and have made some fabulous winter jumpers which fit. I pay by credit card and I buy the number of balls of wool mentioned in the pattern. I like easy!

But have you ever used squared paper to adapt a pattern?

My partner wants to refit his quite small bathroom. Coincidentally, I was looking at layout plans for fitting everything in and leaving room for people to move comfortably and it occurred to me how much maths was involved.

I skip the gauge check and have made some fabulous winter jumpers which fit. I pay by credit card and I buy the number of balls of wool mentioned in the pattern. I like easy!

Come ON!!!!! GN !!!! How is Flickr in predictive text?!?!? Instead of clicked? Which is what I typed?!? Sort out editing tools

I think I agree with growstuff on this.

So I should point out that for those who say they've never used the maths they learnt at school, this list includes algebra, geometry and statistics.

Mollygo

Growstuff
Applied arithmetic rather than pure maths.
👏👏👏

That list was only a start.

Maybe improving classroom methods would be the key. It certainly seems that way from what some GNers are claiming from their ability to do real life maths after being classroom failures.

Growstuff
Applied arithmetic rather than pure maths.
👏👏👏

Totally agree with you, same situation with yours, I would simply refuse to go to school if this was forced on me

Mollygo

Popsie
It’s getting silly now. There is a need to get back to basics not studying maths at a level which isn’t necessarily appropriate.
Which brings us back to the eternal question of what do posters on GN consider to be basic maths?

Interpreting graphs and charts, understanding rates of interest/decrease and how they impact future rates (cost of living, pay, etc), understanding averages, risk and probability, being able to work out ingredients for a 6 inch cake when you have instructions for an 8 inch cake ...

Applied arithmetic rather than pure maths.

Maths for me at school ws another star system!!!! It meant zerø to me until ...... I went to work for post office telephones in Manchester on the acco in nts group!! Their folly I thought! But- when it was people's money that had to be accounted for down to the half pence- EUREKA!!! It all.made.sense!!! Don't know why or how but it Flickr and I was as good/better than most at managing the 15000 accounts I eventually had in my control mostly manual calculations too until we were issued calculator in 1977!! I pressed at lightening speed to understanding accounts/spreadsheets etc eventually ending my working life as an international Credit Manager for our aerospace industry!!! So practical maths for me was the key that unlocked my potential.simply tacking on another 2years' worth of boring schoolroom maths will NOT solve issues for the non math pupils....

I had to do maths and only maths for two terms in order to just pass maths for my Oxford School Certificate. I.e that would approximate to O-level.

I enjoyed the language of Euclid but for some reason, maybe an indisciplined nature , I was bad at calculating.

So many things I want to say...

I have Scottish highers in 6 subjects; two sciences and French included. And Latin, Maths and English. It’s possible to be good enough at them all, although I know that people just aren’t excited about Maths.

Callistemon I did find maths as interesting as poetry or Shakespeare; I think there’s something in the comments about it being taught properly. Maths actually tells you about how the world works, while poetry is just made up stuff…

There’s a video doing the rounds on Twitter of Simon Pegg having a rant about compulsory maths. Like others have said, it’s a dead cat and won’t happen, and it’s probably a daft idea anyway. But where I disagree with Pegg is that he says that everybody will turn into drones just entering data all day (I paraphrase). Maths isn’t boring, and its not repetitive, and its not mechanical.

That said, I love a spreadsheet. How do you manage your electricity bills without a spreadsheet?

I am now going for a lie down as this is the first time that annie1 and I have agreed about anything.

Popsie
It’s getting silly now. There is a need to get back to basics not studying maths at a level which isn’t necessarily appropriate.
Which brings us back to the eternal question of what do posters on GN consider to be basic maths?

I hated maths at school and ultimately didn’t do well. Also the teacher was dreadful. However I ended up working as Assistant Company Secretary eventually which I coped with admirably. Having had responsibility in my career for the employment of secretaries I can honestly say it’s English that is the issue. Have a degree but can’t write a standard letter properly and the spelling mistakes are appalling. Advanced Maths is needed for engineers, pilots, etc but I doubt nurses need anything other than basic maths.
It’s getting silly now. There is a need to get back to basics not studying maths at a level which isn’t necessarily appropriate.

Forgot to say that I was kept in one playtime in primary school for not being able to get the 5 times table!

Failed maths o level twice. That’s with one to one coaching from firstly the head of maths and then the headmaster of my grammar school. I had to have coaching from my primary school headmaster to get through my eleven plus so I knew I had problems. I have never found it a problem ever since. I can do mental arithmetic and used to do my husband’s accounts. If you are not going to be using equations and geometry in your work then I don’t see the point.

Samiejb

I thought at that age, he was meaning maths to include how to understand mortgages, loans and how credit cards and debts are best managed. Should be very useful

That’s a good idea.
I’m not sure it would need 2 extra years, but better nearer an age when they need to work out a mortgage.

Firstly, I think this is a massive dead cat. It won't happen because there aren't enough maths teachers now.

Secondly, it would be interesting to know if Sunak has any idea what he actually means.

If it were up to me (it isn't and never will be), I would like to see a basic understanding of statistics, probability and risk factors. Forget about geometry, trigonometry, etc.

I would include analysis and critical thinking. The kind of task I would include would be giving students an article from a newspaper with a graph or chart and getting them to consider how the figures have been interpreted. What do the figures actually tell us? Sometimes it's not the same as the accompanying narrative.

IMO this kind of thinking is essential to a functioning democracy, in which people make decisions (vote) based on facts, not interpretation of facts by somebody with an agenda.

ronib

Grammaretto

I'm loving this thread. It's the best read
I never understood why I needed maths to get into Art college.
I'll bet Art O level wasn't necessary for university.

I struggle with knitting patterns which are maths. Knitting is all about counting and measuring but with manual skill and spacial awareness thrown in.

Maths is in just about everything in life actually.
My DGS is taking Latin Higher. He likes it.

Re knitting patterns have you a knitting counter that goes on a knitting needle? It helps a lot. Also some knitting patterns are for beginners and are mostly doable. Having also experienced the joys or otherwise of an art degree, knitting is really enjoyable. And useful…. And recyclable.

The maths needed for knitting isn't about just counting stitches!

Knitting involves maths right from the beginning: counting stitches, calculating gauge (that is the number of stitches and rows required to knit a 10cm square for a particular yarn), working out how many skeins (the bundles of yarn) are needed for a project, and rifling through change to work out how much yarn you can buy at the yarn shop sale.

Maths in every day life would be good. Looking at how mortgages, pensions and savings work. And how to manage household budgets, car running costs…. The list goes on. I remember learning lots of things in math that I never used again. Let’s see practical uses.

The shortage of maths teachers means that at GCSE (and A level) they are taught the modules which the existing maths teachers can teach, there is no choice for the students and I know from my friends it is the same at their children's schools. My kid goes to a nice school too

Obviously,no one here who went to university lived in a place where you could not go there if you failed “0” level maths. South Australia demanded it. I never liked Maths because I did not have good maths teachers. As a teacher myself for many years I knew lots of people who were not very good at the job. If a teacher knows the basics of arithmetic and lives his or her life with basic knowledge then you don’t need a a full time maths teacher to teach useful arithmetical understanding. From early years those of us who enjoyed chanting our times tables always knew the simple calculations and it was fun!
Sunak’s speech was not inspiring but some people did realise what he meant by maths until 18 and in fact he clarified it later in the day. He did not mean that everyone needed to do Maths A level. Too many of us are proud of how poor we are at maths when if we had been fortunate to have inspiring teachers we might have performed better.

On this particular subject I agree with Volver. We cannot all aspire to have her level of knowledge but we all need to understand the skills necessary to run our lives well. I had to employ a tutor when doing my post grad work as basic knowledge of maths was required to do statistical work. So hats off to the people here who understood and have careers based on mathematical knowledge and stood their ground. Without them the world would be a poorer place. I do not care which political party is in power, basic maths/arithmetical knowledge is a must for all students.

My grandson is autistic and also has dyscalculia and although bright in other subjects I feel he would struggle doing maths up to the age of 18