kay wrote in
:

I'd happily settle for less ability to multiply numbers together in ones
head in exchange for greater understanding of what the numbers actually
say, and therefore a greater ability to separate scientific argument
from opinion and quackery.

Very true.

But it would help if more than 20% of primary school
teachers knew the answer to "what is one plus two time three".

In my highly scientific survey of teachers at schools that
my daughter might have gone to 15 years ago:
- about 50% were convinced the answer is 9
- about 30% asked where the brackets were,
and were stumped when I said "none, just
the normal laws of arithmetic"
- about 20% got the right answer

It would also be nice not to have secondary school
teachers tell me that I couldn't possibly have
elementary calculus for O-level (and a year early
at that, just like everyone else in my state school)