I happened to be waiting at the sports centre and was watching a group of kids being shown how to use the climbing wall. There were about 10 kids of late primary/early secondary age. The wall was one of those that had the little different coloured hand and foot holds everywhere. The kids had helmets… Read More Climbing the Wall
Here’s where I start. All other things being equal (which they obviously aren’t) there is no detriment to learning times tables. How ever you learn them. By continuous practice, by chanting, by using an app. It’s all good. I know mine and I’m glad I do. The more that children know them the better off… Read More Testing Times
In his speech to the Conservative Party Conference today, Philip Hammond said something that immediately jarred. To be honest, it all jarred a bit, but I mean this part in particular: And then there is the skills challenge. We’ve made huge progress over the last six years. How many people, ten years ago, would have… Read More Truthful Lies
W The “times-tables to be tested” announcement is not exactly new. It was one of the elements contained in the (over) detailed Conservative Party Manifesto for the last election. Indeed, it is step number one. Also this is the announcement of the pilot, so there are plenty more opportunities for re-announcement. Expect that to happen.… Read More Foreseeable consequences
I’ve never taught young children to learn their times tables, but if I did, this is instinctively how I would probably approach it. For the sake of complete clarity, nothing I have written here is meant to suggest that this is not currently done, nor is it meant to suggest that it is the only… Read More Thirty Six
For clarity, I’m not a “Sir Ken Robinson said the word ‘creativity’ without defining it to my exact requirements, so he needs to die at the stake” sort of person. Anyone who wants to take the time to discuss education and to laud the benefits of a state education is ok by me. Nothing anyone… Read More You can dance if you want to
Gravity is quite an easy concept to understand. If two bodies have mass they attract each other. They move together as a system. We understand very clearly how this works and have some simple equations to enable us to work out the forces involved. It’s simple enough for school children to understand. So, two bodies,… Read More The three body problem
First the math. The BBC report today that equations can be beautiful. Apparently it took a few cognitive psychologists and an fMRI scanner to show what the more enlightened among us already knew (yes, I know its yet another fMRI story, but what the heck, it starts my post off). As I said here, Eulers… Read More Is this an imaginary number which I see before me?
Some thoughts about continuing Maths education in year 12. 57.6% of students who take GCSE Maths get a grade C. Or, 42.4% of students who take GCSE maths fail to get above a grade C. Or to put it another way, this year 286,534 children took GCSE maths and failed to get a grade C.… Read More Two hundred and eighty six thousand, five hundred and thirty four
There is no doubt that knowing times tables up to ten is a good thing. Very few people get through life without having to do some multiplication and having that knowledge makes it easier. But beyond ten, there is a question mark. The new National Curriculum seems intent on making the eleven and twelve times… Read More In defence of the twelve (and other) times tables
Distant Ramblings on the Horizon 