In article ,
Martin wrote:
On Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:57:05 +0000, Sacha wrote:
On 2011-01-26 16:40:08 +0000, kay said:

But I think learning times tables by rote up to 12 x 12 is the wrong
place to start!

Worked and continues to work, for me.

The difference between our generation and the young ones, is that we can do
mental arithmetic. Tables are part of the basic tools needed to do this.
Not necessarily. I didn't rely on them and still don't. When my
elder daughter had trouble with her tables, I taught her the methods
I used and said that I didn't give a damn how she got the answer,
provided that she got the right one in under a second. She did,
and got a first-class engineering degree.

There's more than one way to kill a cat.

Nick says people can use a calculator, but I have yet to see anybody doing this
in a supermarket, for example. Our two kids did arithmetic using a calculator
at school. I don't think they even own one nowadays.

If you can't learn tables and can't learn the mathematical tricks,
then any sane person would buy one.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick says people can use a calculator, but I have yet to see anybody
doing this
in a supermarket, for example. Our two kids did arithmetic using a
calculator
at school. I don't think they even own one nowadays.

If you can't learn tables and can't learn the mathematical tricks,
then any sane person would buy one.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

It's no great encumberance to learn the times table at an early age - it can
only help in future years.
There maybe more than one way to skin a cat, but it doesn't hurt to have
more than one string to your bow.

Children at the age that times tables were taught could readily absorb the
information, why deny them such a wonderful experience of learning a
technique that could serve them well in their future
lives.

When you know what things mean mathematically, calculators are fine ( they
save time, and time is money), but, same as GPS they're ok while the
batteries still work.

Bill

Bill Grey wrote:
There maybe more than one way to skin a cat, but it doesn't hurt to have
more than one string to your bow.

Skinning a cat with a bow seems a cruel and unnecessary approach.

wrote in message
...
Bill Grey wrote:
There maybe more than one way to skin a cat, but it doesn't hurt to have
more than one string to your bow.

Skinning a cat with a bow seems a cruel and unnecessary approach

The cat gut comes in handy though.

Bill

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:22:15 -0000, "Bill Grey"
wrote:


Nick says people can use a calculator, but I have yet to see anybody
doing this
in a supermarket, for example. Our two kids did arithmetic using a
calculator
at school. I don't think they even own one nowadays.

If you can't learn tables and can't learn the mathematical tricks,
then any sane person would buy one.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

It's no great encumberance to learn the times table at an early age - it
can
only help in future years.
There maybe more than one way to skin a cat, but it doesn't hurt to have
more than one string to your bow.

Children at the age that times tables were taught could readily absorb the
information, why deny them such a wonderful experience of learning a
technique that could serve them well in their future
lives.

They can also absorb new languages at the same age.
--

Martin

Definitely !

Bill

Sacha wrote:
Yes, I've always thought it a big mistake that schools wait so long to
introduce a foreign language into the curriculum. I started learning
French when I was 4 and while no way am I fluent, I speak fairly well
for a foreigner. I just don't remember actually learning verbs because
we started so young and I was very lucky to have good French teachers
at all the schools I went to.

The boys' primary school have introduced French, the boys both got Spanish
and Urdu (!) sessions when at nursery.

In article , Sacha wrote:
On 2011-01-27 11:41:15 +0000, said:

The boys' primary school have introduced French, the boys both got Spanish
and Urdu (!) sessions when at nursery.

Spanish is much useful if they get a choice at any point! Not sure how
widely spoken Urdu is!

Don't bet on it! Urdu and Hindustani are very closely related and
are the native languages of a large chunk of India and most of
Pakistan.

I think that's LONG overdue - I would have introduced it 20-30 years
ago in relevant places, and got the English and Urdu speakers (I mean
children) to teach each other. Yes, I know that would have created
a weird composite, but so what? English is already one.



Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Sacha wrote:
I take your point but in the past, languages were taught because they
were useful in diplomacy or commerce. French is the language of
diplomacy and Spanish is spoken in large tracts of the trading world.
I don't know if that's the case with Urdu or Hindustani so I don't know
if those languages will be useful in a modern child's business life.

Given how a lot of UK work is now farmed out to India to get it done on the
cheap (see call centres + IT work for the obvious examples), I can see there
being a call for Indian languages.

Sacha wrote:
Given how a lot of UK work is now farmed out to India to get it done on the
cheap (see call centres + IT work for the obvious examples), I can see there
being a call for Indian languages.
But aren't they supposed to be speaking English to the English
customers that call them? There might be a small number of jobs for
English people who would need to speak local languages for training
purposes but not to an overwhelming degree, it seems to me.

Just because they're supposed to speak English, doesn't mean things aren't
easier if you have another common language between you.

Sacha wrote:
The boys' primary school have introduced French, the boys both got Spanish
and Urdu (!) sessions when at nursery.
Spanish is much useful if they get a choice at any point! Not sure how
widely spoken Urdu is!

I think Urdu is probably the 2nd language of the area of London their
nursery was in, hence the choice. It was only a short intro. Actually, I
think they had French for a term, too, cos Daniel came home one day shouting
"ooh la la!"

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-27 10:19:28 +0000, "Bill Grey" said:


"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:22:15 -0000, "Bill Grey"

wrote:


Nick says people can use a calculator, but I have yet to see anybody
doing this
in a supermarket, for example. Our two kids did arithmetic using a
calculator
at school. I don't think they even own one nowadays.

If you can't learn tables and can't learn the mathematical tricks,
then any sane person would buy one.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

It's no great encumberance to learn the times table at an early age -
it
can
only help in future years.
There maybe more than one way to skin a cat, but it doesn't hurt to
have
more than one string to your bow.

Children at the age that times tables were taught could readily absorb
the
information, why deny them such a wonderful experience of learning a
technique that could serve them well in their future
lives.

They can also absorb new languages at the same age.
--

Martin

Definitely !

Bill

Yes, I've always thought it a big mistake that schools wait so long to
introduce a foreign language into the curriculum. I started learning
French when I was 4 and while no way am I fluent, I speak fairly well for
a foreigner. I just don't remember actually learning verbs because we
started so young and I was very lucky to have good French teachers at all
the schools I went to.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

I spoke Welsh long before I was formerly tought Welsh. Funnily, it was
then the trouble starrted.
The difference between colloquial Welsh and grammatical or literary Welsh
was a bit traumatic. The differences were slight, the pronunciation
sometimes, and learning the correct word as opposed to a word distorted by
collquialism in another ( eg in English innit as opposed to isn't it, or is
it not)

Bill

wrote:

There's more than one way to kill a cat.

Ahem! There's more than one way to *skin* a cat

--
Rusty

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:02:09 +0000, Rusty Hinge
wrote:

wrote:

There's more than one way to kill a cat.

Ahem! There's more than one way to *skin* a cat

Ah. That looks like "O" Level Eng Lang 1955... "Explain the meaning of
/three/ of the following expressions in your own words."

All very sound stuff, until you realise that in some subjects the
language in the questions was more difficult than the language needed
to write the answers. There's a very interesting little book going the
rounds: /The O Level Book: Genuine Exam questions From Yesteryear/.
Go''a be wurf free quid a' Amazom for anywum readim freds like this
one, innit?

--
Mike.

Mike Lyle wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:02:09 +0000, Rusty Hinge
wrote:

wrote:

There's more than one way to kill a cat.
Ahem! There's more than one way to *skin* a cat

Ah. That looks like "O" Level Eng Lang 1955... "Explain the meaning of
/three/ of the following expressions in your own words."

All very sound stuff, until you realise that in some subjects the
language in the questions was more difficult than the language needed
to write the answers. There's a very interesting little book going the
rounds: /The O Level Book: Genuine Exam questions From Yesteryear/.
Go''a be wurf free quid a' Amazom for anywum readim freds like this
one, innit?

Or n e 1 hoo rites like vis No wot i meen yea.

--
Rusty

"Rusty Hinge" wrote in message
...
wrote:

There's more than one way to kill a cat.

Ahem! There's more than one way to *skin* a cat

--
Rusty



:-))

And they taste like Rabbit when cooked :-))

Mike



--

....................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
....................................