On Fri, 4 Jun 2004 19:04:43 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:


No, not so - they learn different areas of mathematics.

My son did no real geometry for GCSE or A level maths. He did nothing
that I hadn't done for A level maths 40 years before, whereas the A
level maths I did covered topics he didn't.

Less in the
arithmetical skills area, more of the underlying concepts of
mathematics, for example, some basic concepts of set theory, symmetry,
statistical concepts. It is no longer necessary to be able to accurately
add up a long column of numbers,

isn't this an arithmetic skill?

but it is necessary to be able to
estimate an answer to check against the calculator response, and that is
reflected in the current syllabus.

That skill existed decades ago in the days of logarithms and slide
rules.