Numbers game

I was a calculator girl at school. The era where no mental maths skills were taught. I still managed to get a decent A level in maths and stats - mental maths knowledge was not essential until I stood in the real world.

When I did, I hadn't much of a clue. Subtracting in particular, was a nightmare as were my six and eight times tables. Working out change, dividing up a bill, purchasing multiple items were all nigh on impossible.

That is, until I became a teacher. Discovering that there were mental maths techniques was an absolute revelation! (I am not kidding.)

But at least before then, I understood what numbers meant and I could work everything out on paper or with a calculator.

It must be very hard if numbers make no sense. If 189 may well be smaller than 901 but you're not sure . If 12 ÷ 4 seems the same as 12 x 4. If multiplying means nothing at all. If you're not sure how many pennies are in 5 pence.

Dyscalculia

I have a lot of time for teachers and the difficulties you encounter teaching someone who is not learning the same way as everyone else - I know from experience, it's not easy. But if someone can't understand these aspects, it pains me to discover they've been learning a formal written method to multiply 24 by 3 today in secondary school

...and they think it's a new way of doing division
...which we had a break through on last week.

And dyscalculia hasn't even been mentioned.

I could say more but I think I should stop right there. Irked.