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POLITICIANS ARE FREQUENTLY criticised over their qualifications, or lack thereof.
Some will end up holding ministries in areas they have never worked or studied.
However, basic maths is something you expect them to have a confident hold of.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was faced with a live maths question from Channel 5 presenter Andy Bell earlier today that he wasn’t too confident with – what are nine eights?
The answer is, of course, 72, but Cameron was hesitant.
First of all, I am going to plead the [Education Secretary] Nicky Morgan defence, which is I do times tables, only in the car, with my children, on the way to school, and I’m going to stick to that, just in case I get one wrong…
Morgan also really, REALLY, doesn’t like maths.
These questions follow plans announced by the UK government that all children will be expected to know their times tables (all the way up to 12, yikes) by the time they finish primary school.
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Why did you say “yikes” journal ? I’m remember having to learn all the way up to 12 times tables in primary school. Is it not still the same way no ?
You should see Enda doing the maths -Why do you think he gave up the teaching sure …
When I learned my tables (late 70′s), I wondered why we had to learn eleven and twelve times tables when everything else in primary school maths is to base 10, and then I realised that they were a hang-over from pre-Decimalisation days (up to 1971). I can’t believe that they’re still teaching them today…
However, learning (up to 10 times) tables by rote is essential – it allows you to “forget” about simple multiplications, and move on the the next levels in maths, in the same way that learning clutch control and steering in a car allows you to move on to the real tasks in driving like observation, hazard recognition and planning.
3rd graders here in Korea do maths such as 9 x 247 or 6 x 752 and 47÷7. So I don’t see how learning the simple 12×12 by 6th class can be difficult
He’d get a job with the Shinners. No prob.
More than you’d get as a member of the keyboard politicians party
Vote KPP
Cameron’s an utter c#&t but it’s a ridiculous attempt to catch him out and he’s right not to give an answer.
Two eights = sixteen
Two eighths = one quarter.
Ah now it’s to early in the morning for that. I’ll be confused for the rest of the day.
So they are going back to rote learning in England!!!!!!!!!
At times, rote learning is a perfectly adequate way of learning. It has almost become a dirty phrase of recent years. We learn many things by rote – the alphabet, phone numbers etc. Rote learning has a place in education – it should just not be the basis on which things are formed and I say that as a maths teacher!
I would agrèe, however the Junior and Senior cycles need a radical overhaul to keep pace or atleast catch up with other European states.
gerry adams too, what is it with these british political leaders?
1and one eight
Ok, a bit pedantic but if someone asks “what ate nine eights” there are two correct answers. Firstly if it could be construed as nine multiplied by eight, to which the answer is seventy two. However it would also be correct to say 1.125 as this is also nine eights where one eight is 0.125 of a unit.
I tink dis might be more a problem wit your Dub accent Tom.
This is all pretty unfair. His job isn’t to know his times tables or to be able to answer maths questions at random. Ask most adults and they’d be nervous to answer too. Ask a lot of adults and, sure enough, they’d be wrong. It’s just a chance to catch him out on something.
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