The Evolution Of Teaching Maths

[dave50]

This is taken from a columnist in the Daily Express. I thought it was rather amusing but probably true to some degree.

Teaching maths in the 1950s: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for £100. His cost of production is four-fifths of the price. What is his profit?

Teaching maths in the 1980s: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for £100. His cost of production is £80. Did he make a profit? Teaching maths today: A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of £20. What do you think of this way of making a living?

Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers and if you feel like crying it’s OK).

[pixie373]

Of course it is. My experience is of doing O Level and GCSE papers at the same age.

[jourdain2]

Pixie :) Happy Christmas.

[pixie373]

:-) you too x

[jourdain2]

You are right Jim.

[factor-fiction]

Hi jourdain - you said "when invigilating GCSE papers I found that I could easily get a C grade pass"
Presumably you subsequently looked at the mark schemes and grade boundaries a few months later.
At least you are speaking with some experience.

My mum went a grammar school and passed O level Maths. She can still remember things like the formula for solving quadratics and trig formulae and her mental arithmetic is good. She had read about the dumbing down of exams and grade drift but was shocked at how difficult she found it to tackle later questions when I gave her a current GCSE paper.

Some things have changed - things such as calculus are now left until A level- and the exams are now meant to be accessible to most pupils whereas the old O levels were aimed mainly at the top 25% of students, but there nevertheless some challenging questions and I doubt very much that the average adult would achieve a grade A

[sherrardk]

I passed O Level Maths but I would struggle to pass GCSE maths without doing a lot of swotting (and even then I would still be doubtful of passing). I also doubt if many adults could get a grade C let alone a grade A. I don't know if it's harder or if it's just because they keep changing the way they do maths (if you see what I mean). Fortunately, my eldest son seems to be coping well with GCSE so doesn't require any parental help and boy #2 and girl are good at maths (girl is 'gifted and talented') so also don't need any help. The things don't currently do maths that I can't manage so I've got a few years grace.

[factor-fiction]

A final point from me as I realise this was intended to be a light hearted thread- I'm not sure why there are concerns that calculators are allowed in part of the maths exam. In my experience though they don't help students much as they too often are not sure which operations to use

[LewPaper]

That seems to be euphamism for today's society. The police underfunded and now a 'service', the banks no longer helping businesses to grow but holding them and us to ransom, education merely a continuous experiment of new ideas and failing miserably all mixed together with a impotent government (of both persuasions) because it's too big now to control or govern.