Times table to be learnt at Primary School

The reciting bit seemed ok till the teacher threw them back at you...8x7....11x12....I can still feel the fear!

But boy did we know them.

Absolutely.  Our Headmaster (we never had Headteachers) used to test us weekly by clicking his fingers at you and then demanding an answer to a random 8x7 etc. and you daren't not know.  

but back then we probably had more respect for the teachers ,so we learnt them , whereas, do the kids of today have that respect?????

but back then we probably had more respect for the teachers ,so we learnt them , whereas, do the kids of today have that respect?????

HD - ask to visit your local primary or secondary school - walk round on a normal teaching day. I bet you'll find the youngsters have a great deal more respect for their teachers at school than they do for adults in general outside the school gates!

but back then we probably had more respect for the teachers ,so we learnt them , whereas, do the kids of today have that respect?????

HD - ask to visit your local primary or secondary school - walk round on a normal teaching day. I bet you'll find the youngsters have a great deal more respect for their teachers at school than they do for adults in general outside the school gates!

M, I wasn't saying they don't have respect ,but asking in general , long time since I was at school ..............

Todays kids are way more advanced than I ever was. Based on my extended family I have had conversations on politics/space/engineering with 8-10yr olds, it's astounding the level of understanding they have. I never start these deep conversations either, today's kids are more rounded re education. I had no interest in these subjects at 8-10yrs old. It's the engagement of Teachers that make the difference.

but back then we probably had more respect for the teachers ,so we learnt them , whereas, do the kids of today have that respect?????

HD - ask to visit your local primary or secondary school - walk round on a normal teaching day. I bet you'll find the youngsters have a great deal more respect for their teachers at school than they do for adults in general outside the school gates!

Absolutley.I take my youngest grandchildren too school almost every morning and they are in awe of there teachers who are great people too talk too.I attend all the school plays and open days and the bond between teachers and pupils never ceases too amaze me as they progress through each year with a new teacher.

peter.

The respect aspect usually works along the lines of 0-5 parents  are infallible, 5-10 teacher is infallible, 11+ I'm infallible. 

Teachers are responsible for shaping the next generation more so now, as parents spend more of their time earning a living.

I’d be interested to know why tables were dropped and why they are being brought back. Times move on and this seems to be a backward step.

but back then we probably had more respect for the teachers ,so we learnt them , whereas, do the kids of today have that respect?????

HD - ask to visit your local primary or secondary school - walk round on a normal teaching day. I bet you'll find the youngsters have a great deal more respect for their teachers at school than they do for adults in general outside the school gates!

Write your comments here...That proves nothing M except that the kids are in a captive environment and not free to say what they really think. 

Try speaking to kids about school staff when they are outside school and you will find they are more honest about a particular teacher's abilities. The expression he / she is a rubbish teacher  is heard as often as he / she is a good teacher. 

But back to the thread -- The BBC has highlighted a major concern about some primary pupils reaching the age of moving to secondary school without any numeracy skills. I would suspect that the idea of  teaching of times tables  would be an aid to correct this. 

K 

K - that's a rather cynical reply isn't it, not like you!  Are you saying that youngsters in your (and my) young days didn't also regard some teachers as "rubbish"; are you saying it's a new phenomenem? I'm guessing things must be very different in Scotland then - we don't think of youngsters as "captives" down here!

I don't think there's any objection to the teaching of times tables - as I said earlier, it was certainly being done when I retired 5 years ago, having suddenly become "acceptable" again. But anyone who thinks that introducing a tables test at age 11 is suddenly going to improve standards, is I'm afraid, sadly mistaken - SATs came and went at great expense as I suspect will this "innovation".