University staff!

[tamborine]

Asked by cashier if I wanted to buy postage stamps with my goods....I questioned the price of a 2nd class stamp and she said they only sell books of 12 at �3.60!

Me, calculating the individual price instantly surprised her to ask my method .......'times tables' I said. Her retort "I went to university & we only use calculators"! ;o)

[ganesh]

No-one can do simple maths any more! I find it odd too that as well as using calculators,they all take reference books into exams. Part of our English Lit exams,for instance, was to remember the books we were being questioned on and memorise a few "quotes" to use in our answers.Now they can just look them up!
No wonder they all get A s nowadays.
Yes, I know, I'm so old!

[factor-fiction]

Not only that ganesh, but I believe that in English Lit you are allowed to have all those pencilled notes/underlining etc scribbled into your copy of the book that you can take in the exam.
When I taught Maths a few years ago I was told off by the head of department because I hadn't given pupils (age 14)times tables cards showing all the tables up to 12 x12 to help them with their work.

[squarebear]

With calcualtors and computers, it's no longer necessary for us to be able to work out simple maths in our heads.

Times have changed.

"I recently asked my son to light the fire for me. Imagine my disappointment when he got out a box of matches. Does no-one know how to chip flint anymore?"

[Lil O'lady]

Factor - notes are allowed in certain literature exams but by no means all.
Teaching times-tables fell foul of educational fashion iin the 1970's - it was deemed far too fascist to make kids memorize things by rote. Consequently a generation of adults can't multiply quickly and easily.
It was at the other extreme when I was a child - while our teacher did all her admin we had to chant our times tables up to 12 times table, then units of length, weights, and measures.
'four gills one pint, two pints one quart, four quarts one gallon........12 inches one foot, three feet one yard, 1760 yards one mile, 22yards one chain, ten chains one furlong, 8 furlongs one mile'
proper brainwashing and I can't forget a bit of it, but the problem is I still remember as well the teacher's car number plate - YRJ 308 - because it all sort of got caught up into the same mental template, some of which is useful, but to be honest I've never measured a chain of anything, ever in my life.
Or calculated the cosine of a single angle.

[tamborine]

please sir......my calculator/phone/gadget battery is flat ooooops....re-sit?

[Lil O'lady]

Actually, official calculators are now given out in public exams where specified - and rulers, pencils, erasers - talk about spoon-feeding!

[sophie_1003]

I don't know my timestables really and I do put it largely down to the fact that my first first school didn't ever teach them, then when I moved schools everyone in the class knew they're times tables up to 10 and were learning up to 12, I just got completely left behind and so disenchanted with maths that I now use a calculator if I need to. Even if I do work out the calculation in my head I doubt myself so much I have to check on a calculator anyway!