Tables

[maggiebee]

Following the family's move to Dundee I offered to help my 10 year old grandaughter with her maths homework. Absolutely appalled that she does not seem to know any times tables. Are these not taught in schools any more? Sure I knew up to my 12 times table by the time I reached primary 6. Any comments?

[jennyjoan]

I also learned my times-table too but when you don't use it you lose it.

Now I work in a monetary establishment it is amazing to myself that I still have to revert to the table in my head - like tonight a guy came in and wanted £7 put into 5 books and I thank my lucky stars that I knew it was £35.

They are definitely an important staple to every kid's learning.

[sherrardk]

My children aren't taught tables by rote, it's almost as though they are just expected to know them (I think it's not the 'done' thing to learn them by rote anymore). Fortunately, two of them are very good at maths and two of them are maths brainiacs (thing 1 can't be arsed with any of it). They also do weekly spellings at primary and they are hot on reading (unfortunately thing 1 isn't).

[Brinjal]

I have never forgotten my times tables. Was not good at math but times tables are the back bone of math. I asked the young man that works for me to tally some figures and he said he would need a calculator I was horrified that he couldn't add four figures without one.

[mallyh]

welldone maggiebee on helping her .i couldn't fathom how they get taught to work things out now .it just seemed to complecate things .

[Daffy6543]

I was taught times tables but was never very good at them, maths as a whole was difficult for me and I left school with only a grade 2 CSE in that subject. I had no parent or family to teach me so maybe that had a bearing on my abysmal exam results.
My 17 year old son is a maths genius and won several awards in high school, he has continued to study it at A Level.

[sandyRoe]

Knowing that there are 10 chains in a furlong has never been the slightest bit of use to me. But the times tables were.

[dunnitall]

I don't like teaching methods now for maths or English so good on you for helping your granddaughter. Rote IMO is the best way to learn things in many instances so perhaps you could start off that way and see how it goes. Nowt wrong in trying it first. I'm 'old school' so will always go for old methods being the best, mind you as is always the case, everyone is different, some good at some things and not others, life as is it and always has been I feel.