Michael Gove’s maths plan adds up
TEACHERS are determined to knock Education Secretary Michael Gove off course. He wants children to chant their tables daily till they know them by heart.
Educationalists insist it would be counter-productive for children to know two 12s are 24 without understanding how, why and wherefore.
Having met 14-year-olds who are severely hampered in their attempts at maths by having to stop and work out how many six eights make every single time they’re confronted by a multiplication sum, I’m with Gove.
Let our children learn their tables by rote, have the vital information at their fingertips and work out why in the fullness of time.