Compulsory Maths till you’re 18.

We have very proud parents and aunties here !

I hated maths as a child, our maths teacher at primary school would hit us if we got our times tables wrong.
I was truly terrified of her and had no confidence when it came to maths.
I prayed that she would die, she didn’t die but went blind, I was never sure if I didn’t pray hard enough or if I was a young witch.
I’m sure there were many teachers like Mrs B who put pupils off maths for life.

I left school as soon as I could weeks after my 16th birthday and walked straight into a job, now children must stay in education till they are 18 or doing an apprenticeship , I learnt on the job and probably learnt more that way and took my qualification later in life, I find most teachers are great with pupils who have an aptitude for their subject but hopeless with the ones who dont. The children who don't like maths are not suddenly going to love it between 16 & 18 , will they also have to take exams in the subject as this is the only way they can prove it is a success?

What I forgot to say if anyone is interested in sociology, and gets stuck on an idea, I can try to help work it through.

I am not boasting but I set a record for the mark of my A level sociology exam a very long time ago. There are some very simple study guides to A level sociology probably in the local library?

ronib I guess it must have passed unnoticed by my relations. They weren’t at Uni until the 90’s onwards. I do remember the maureen Lipman ‘ology’ adverts though.

Sociology, media studies, the arts including English and history definitely rubbished by this govt and mr gove
Yes we need engineers scientists mathmeticians etc but we need critical thinkers, and the arts enrich all of us. Look at the interesting discussion on Happy Valley 🌞

Mollygo

Has there been trashing of sociology and media studies? I must tell my niece (media studies) and my nephews (1 sociology,
1 media studies) that they did rubbish subjects. It got them jobs.

I think it used to be a very popular subject at aim the 1960s and 1970s and numbers have tailed off.

Do you remember Maureen Lipman’s advert mentioning the ‘ology’?

The subject didn’t have the same kudos as other more mainstream subjects but I think it’s even more relevant today.

Has there been trashing of sociology and media studies? I must tell my niece (media studies) and my nephews (1 sociology,
1 media studies) that they did rubbish subjects. It got them jobs.

Best comment on GN so far!

growstuff

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.

I agree. i honestly believe that the whole trashing of subjects such as sociology and media studies was started because the government (Thatcher's I believe) didn't want a population who could see what was happening, and have the vocabulary and theoretical underpinning to argue against it.

Just because I could

I graduated when I was 38 without a single 0 level via the wonderful Access opportunity to those mature folk who missed out first time round. Did a couple of O levels and an A too afterwards.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 ...

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"
😀

Sorry, that was to growstuff

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.