Maths Level Targets

[Guest55]

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having read up on the currently used methods

That is not what maths is about ... you need to understand the pedagogy of the new approaches at KS3 and how functional skills feeds into the curriculum.

Yes I would suggest that parents steer clear of teaching anything beyond level 5 as the Ssecondary curriculum has changed massively since anyone on here was at school.

[Okanagan]

So we just abandon all hope of any progress in maths if the school don't/won't/can't teach them? You're talking from a prefect world scenario - which isn't where all of us are lucky enough to be.

[Guest55]

No-one needs to be beyond level 5 at Primary school!

The best thing parents can do is use maths all the time - get them making cakes, making cushions and other things wher they NEED maths.

Look at problems together on http://www.maths.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or do logic problems - a far better diet!

[JRM]

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having read up on the currently used methods

That is not what maths is about ... you need to understand the pedagogy of the new approaches at KS3 and how functional skills feeds into the curriculum.

No maths is about the real world, it is everyday life. It is beautiful and sadly school often stops children realising that. For us a GCSE is just a distraction from the beauty of the subject.

I don't claim for one minute I could teach a class of 30 children. But telling me I shoudln't be allowed to teach my own child is like a red rag to a bull to me. I've taught him all sorts since he was born, but I must stop now because I don't have a certificate?

As an example, when he observes the patterns in a sunflower and the number series, should I bite my tongue and not tell him about Fibonnaci? Where else in life do we have to purposely stop ourselves sharing our knowledge with our children?

[Guest55]

Maths is more than that!!!!

If we only looked at the real world then negative numbers and complex numbers would never have been discovered, nor would a lot of the maths used in computing, physics, engineering , ..........

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[daveg]

Maths is more than that!!!!

If we only looked at the real world then negative numbers and complex numbers would never have been discovered

Doesn't your real world contain overdrafts or AC electricity?

[JRM]

Maths is more than that!!!!

If we only looked at the real world then negative numbers and complex numbers would never have been discovered, nor would a lot of the maths used in computing, physics, engineering , ..........

........... (edited by moderator)

In our house computing, physics and engineering are part of the real world.

[aliportico]

And some kids just get maths. How can you tell them not to think, because they "don't need to be beyond level 5"? In conversation with my just-turned-12 year old recently, the idea of negative powers came up - he thought for a moment and then said, oh right, so ten to the minus 3 would be 0.001? I haven't taught him that, and it certainly hasn't come up at school, he could just see the pattern.

And of course a parent/other adult can teach maths one-to-one successfully, without having been trained up in the latest fashion in maths teaching - I think a few of us on here are private maths tutors. Dunno about the others, but I'm very successful (as in e.g. my gcse tutees get the grades they want) and lots of them tell me it's so nice to finally understand maths after years of not getting it at school.

And for goodness sake, there's more to maths than the ks3 curriculum. The last thing I would want to do with a bright 10 year old who liked maths would be to be restricted to that!

[moved]

And some kids just get maths. How can you tell them not to think, because they "don't need to be beyond level 5"? In conversation with my just-turned-12 year old recently, the idea of negative powers came up - he thought for a moment and then said, oh right, so ten to the minus 3 would be 0.001? I haven't taught him that, and it certainly hasn't come up at school, he could just see the pattern.

And of course a parent/other adult can teach maths one-to-one successfully, without having been trained up in the latest fashion in maths teaching - I think a few of us on here are private maths tutors. Dunno about the others, but I'm very successful (as in e.g. my gcse tutees get the grades they want) and lots of them tell me it's so nice to finally understand maths after years of not getting it at school.

And for goodness sake, there's more to maths than the ks3 curriculum. The last thing I would want to do with a bright 10 year old who liked maths would be to be restricted to that!

I would hope so too!

[Bestichka]

I find it odd to restrict learning beyond a certain point / to a certain method just because teaching methods are different. Particularly in math! No matter how you teach times table, 5x5 will always be 25. However, I've seen clear examples in my experience when a child who struggles with a concept looking at it "the school way" grasped that in a split second when another perspective was offered - because they just see/feel/view the world slightly differently! we should not underestimate that.