Teaching Maths in Britain:

[Harbo]

Wow cannot remember a lot about it now - it was a long time ago - I graduated in 1967 and my younger daughter is now 38!

I think it was more to do with terminology - they did not use words like plus or minus?
We bought a book called "Maths for Mums and Dads back in the late 70's to understand it?
It was supposed to make Maths more understandable - I found the opposite!

Here's a link about New Maths (a bit rambling I am afraid)

http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/cosmos-november+

Rod

 

[Jacob]

........
So why drag up Maggie?

Roy.

Because she kicked off the attack on state education which has been going on ever since, ably assisted by one of the strangest and most negative Chief inspectors of ed namely Chris Woodhead and weird ministers of ed like Michael Howard. Gove very much in the same tradition.

One thing you can be fairly certain of is that countries whose education systems do better also spend more as % GDP. It's not all down to some mythical "traditional" education - Finland is horrifyingly progressive in Dully Male terms.

"New" maths was an attempt to introduce a more theoretical basis early on, with set theory, boolean algebra - basically simple stuff but too abstract for many. I had to catch up with my kids but it wasn't difficult. There's more to maths than 2+2=4.

As for 1950 exam stuff - syllabus change, and so they should. 1950 taught kids would have a problem with a modern syllabus, not having calculators for a start. For O level we had to do all sorts of tedious calcs on paper alone, long division with big numbers :shock: which modern kids probably don't have to do.

Amused by your excuse for arithmatic, logerithms, calculas, Gardian being a matter of haste. My son uses the same excuse but he is severely dyslexic. His CVs etc however are perfect as he checks them carefully and has them proof read (by me usually). I bet biker boy would do the same, but he'd never get anything written on a biker forum if he had to go over everything with a fine tooth comb. Good luck to him.

 

[SammyQ]

Noel, there were so many cops, you needed WD40 just to squeeze down the street between them......hellyhopter was burnin' up taxpayers money for 8 straight hours too. That baby is fitted with SUCH high definition cameras, prosecution is via the model and size printed on yer drawers waistband, showing when you bend over for a fresh brick.

Tonight, the monsoon has struck and every rock-throwing, self respecting, parka-wearing, benefit-money-drinking hood is indoors watching "My name is Earl"! There is just SO little point in getting your training bottoms wet, the saggy arris looks plain awful on the six o'clock news....

Sam

 

[Digit]

I can't think of anything to say.
Step forward who said 'thank Gawd!'

Roy.

 

[Digit]

The reason I said why drag up Maggie was 'cos you said let's stop the blame game and then did just the opposite.
And what ever Maggies did or didn't do was followed by 11 yrs of Blair etc, so why did they not correct it, why are we still going down the international league table!

which modern kids probably don't have to do.

And when the battery goes flat they are stuffed! I haven't forgotten the teen in the shop who used his calculater to work out what 6 diodes at 10 pence each totalled!

Roy.

 

[Jonzjob]

Silly me!!

Fancy starting a nice amusing thread with the thought that it would amuse?

My too worsed subjekts have always bean smelling and mahts #-o #-o I always made 2 X 2 = 4 an a bit!

 

[Anonymous]

afternoon. yisterday i finally got my front brake bled with my new pads in. problem im finding is that the brake is poor! i can pull the lever as hard as i possibly can and i can still push the bike forward but its abit difficult, the pads are brandnew and the disk is correct thickness, i bled the brakes very throughly as i always do so i know theres no problem in the bleeding, the piston moves freely and theres little to no dirt on the caliper. i did the rear brake at the same time and that has alot more bite but i can stil push the bike but with grate difficulty. is this normal with new pads as ive never had to ride a bike with new pads in theve always been new but bedded in

i rode my bike through the rain we had on saturday (bout 100 miles) and the next time i got on it the indicators didnt want to work :/

as i pushed the button, absolutely nothing happens. all other lights/electrical bits are ok, is it possible some water got into just the indicator circuit?

any ideas?

......

Er - haven't we been here before? This looks familiar somehow.
What is the point you are trying to make?
All the text above is quite literate and completely free of ambiguities. Nobody would have the slightest problem understanding it, though it might help to know a tiny bit about motorbikes.
And yes - the grammar and spelling are technically very bad, but should he stay silent and not ask questions?
No of course not - it's about motorbikes, not about spelling!
Yes he would have a problem with a CV - but only if his employer needed him to have good writing skills.

His employment opportunities would be very limited as he comes across as uneducated, thus comes across as lazy, thus comes across as 'no good for business'. Perceptions are everything!! He could be the best joiner in the world but if he wrote a CV with that many spelling mistakes, I would throw it straight in the bin!!

An amusing original post though, made me chuckle.

 

[Jacob]

......the blame game ......

was the endless accusatory tone from the top end blaming kids, parents, teachers, failing schools, the system, etc. etc. when the responsibility is largely at the top, with the govt.

And what ever Maggies did or didn't do was followed by 11 yrs of Blair etc, so why did they not correct it, why are we still going down the international league table!

Good question The Blair years a wasted opportunity

And when the battery goes flat they are stuffed! I haven't forgotten the teen in the shop who used his calculater to work out what 6 diodes at 10 pence each totalled!

Well if he couldn't work it out it was a good job he had a calculator!
We had slide rules and log tables. Same but different

NB Spelling - calculator :roll: :lol: :lol:

...if he wrote a CV with that many spelling mistakes,....

He wasn't writing a CV though was he?

 

[Digit]

Well if he couldn't work it out it was a good job he had a calculator!
We had slide rules and log tables. Same but different

There is where we divide. I don't use a spelling checker, as you will have noticed, I also don't use a calculator. Why Jacob? because they make you lazy! Relying on these things mean you never improve!
And I don't know about you but I didn't carry a guessing stick in my back pocket and I never saw one used in a shop.
And Mark's comments are exactly how I would have seen any such CV presented to me! My reaction would have been that this person is simply too bone idle to user a checker or a dictionary. Next Please!

Roy.

 

[Noel]

Noel, there were so many cops, you needed WD40 just to squeeze down the street between them......hellyhopter was burnin' up taxpayers money for 8 straight hours too. That baby is fitted with SUCH high definition cameras, prosecution is via the model and size printed on yer drawers waistband, showing when you bend over for a fresh brick.

Tonight, the monsoon has struck and every rock-throwing, self respecting, parka-wearing, benefit-money-drinking hood is indoors watching "My name is Earl"! There is just SO little point in getting your training bottoms wet, the saggy arris looks plain awful on the six o'clock news....

Sam

LOL, good description of life in the East. You should script write on Folks On The Hill. Yes, drowned rats in their gutties wouldn't look so good on a Mark Simpson (must've had laser eye surgery...) report. See latex gloves have become the latest fashion accessory, too much CSI during the off season.
On a serious note this Beast From The East the media is going on about seems to have a few issues. Fingers crossed it's all hype but ..........
Rgds

Noel

 

[Jacob]

..I don't use a spelling checker, .... Relying on these things mean you never improve!.......

So is your spelling improving? It must have been pretty bad! You should have more sympathy for biker boy as you both have the same problem. I bet his isn't improving either.
Personally I couldn't give a f**ck how anybody spells.

 

[Digit]

It isn't getting any worse! Why should I have sympathy for him? I have if he is unaware of his problem, otherwise he's simply lazy.
I try to improve.
Nobody requires that you care, just leave us that do alone, you see, this entire forum is dedicated to helping people improve their skills, just look at the varied requests for help, you seem to be the only one who thinks that he is beyond improvement.
You are very lucky!

It must have been pretty bad!

Yes indeed, I was born both unable to spell or to count, so yes, I have improved!

Roy.

 

[Jonzjob]

Roy, believe me, it's difficult being perfekt. The only way is down when you can't get any better :mrgreen:

 

[Kalimna]

Jacob - just out of interest, why dont you care about someone else's spelling (i.e. it's the message, not the format), but you rather do seem to care about how an edge is sharpened?

Just something I noticed, is all

Great thread. I suspect the root of the problem with current teaching syllabi (plural of syllabus??) is that they seem to come across as fashionable and as a means to ensure nobody fails.

Anyhoo, it's far too early for me to be making sense today - the sun is shining and my one year old is desperately trying to pull my laptop apart!
Adam

 

[Jacob]

Jacob - just out of interest, why dont you care about someone else's spelling (i.e. it's the message, not the format), but you rather do seem to care about how an edge is sharpened?

Dunno, are they parallel? I suppose I think that poor spelling, like poor sharpening, shouldn't put anybody off having a go.
A cutting edge is better for being sharp. A cutting remark? Could be just as sharp even if spelled badly?
NB I use a spell checker myself as I regularly get certain words wrong. Often doesn't help: there/their, to/too etc

.....I suspect the root of the problem with current teaching syllabi (plural of syllabus??) is that they seem to come across as fashionable

Just a rumour - part of the black propaganda directed at state eduction. The Bullingdon boys don't like it. We the riff-raff get a fairly good education free of charge whereas they have to pay for their privileges, and ours too, through taxation. :lol: :lol: :lol:

as a means to ensure nobody fails.

"Failure" gets bandied about a bit too much. Like a lot of people I've done lots of things which I've "failed" at (didn't get the qualification etc) but bits stay with me as part of my education so they weren't wasted even though I "failed". Marking and grading is important of course, but in a sense "failure" only applies to someone who gets zero% in an exam. I once got 5% in Latin and 6% in Religious Studies. :roll: so I learned something. Parables or something, can't quite remember. Amo amas...er..
The anti state education lobby have put a lot of emphasis on "failed" schools etc. but it's the govt and the Ministry of Ed who are failing us, with the support of the Dully Male lobby!
Orwell's 1984 arrived early - 1979.

 

[Doug B]

Personally I couldn't give a f**ck

2 asterisk ? Were you temporarily overcome by the Kimberley spell checker?

 

[Modernist]

"Remember a problem is just a sum wrapped up in a woolly blanket"

Stakeford Junior School 1959 ish and still true.

The purpose of learning maths is to solve problems not pass exams

 

[bugbear]

Jacob - just out of interest, why dont you care about someone else's spelling (i.e. it's the message, not the format), but you rather do seem to care about how an edge is sharpened?

Jacob will say virtually anything for the joy (to him) of argument.

I've never been sure what he truly believes in, in the morass of rhetorical noise.

BugBear

 

[doorframe]

I once got 5% in Latin and 6% in Religious Studies.

Topped Ya!! Err..sort of...

In 1980 I got 4% in English Lit (Mock 'O' Levels)... Wasn't the lowest... there was a 3 and a 2.

Only bit I could remember was "When shall we three meet again".. then I fell asleep for the rest of the year!

What a load of useless c*bblers!

Roy

 

[Digit]

Ministry of Ed who are failing us, with the support of the Dully Male lobby!

That doesn't even make sense.

5% in swimming wouldn't be a lot of use.

Roy.