Britain's poor standards in maths

[bicycle]

BRITAIN'S poor standards in maths are costing the economy a flabillion and one every year, a new report suggests.


City accountants Madeley-Finnegan said that since 1999 the number of children with poor numeracy had risen from five out of ten to 50% - an increase of nearly a double.

And according to their research the long term effects of children leaving school unable to add up could be as high as twenties.

Researcher Julian Cook said: "People seem to think maths is for quiet boys with stains on the front of their trousers, who can't stop staring down the front of your blouse, and have a strange biscuity aroma.

"It is, but at least I can calculate exactly how much water it will take to fill my bath. Not that anyone would actually want to fill a bath because then, when they got in, the water would pour over the side."

He added: "Without it you can't even work in a shop, or at least not until they invent some sort of scanning device that can detect the price of every object, and another one that can add up everything and then, when the customer gives you some money, calculates the exact change you should give them back. And that's not likely to happen any time soon."

However, Kyle Stephenson, 15, said: "A 2-litre bottle of Electric White is £1.99 and if I share it with Emily Jenkins I can get fingers and tops, but if I buy her one for herself she will go all the way.

"I have £10 so how often can I get it? I don't know, but all I have to do is keep going into the shop every day until they tell me I've no money left.

"Life is good."

[cafetimes1991]

5 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions.
Things aren't so good here in Ireland either. :(

[januspolanski]

Its not just maths. I think the general intelligence of people in the UK in slowly falling.

What worries me is that most of the lowest intelligence/troublesome/useless girls from my year at school are now walking round with prams full of kids. Some of them have 5,6,7 kids just so they can claim benefits and not have to work. They are useless to society and most of their kids will be aswell unfortunately.

Exams/GCSE s/A levels are being made easier to hide the fall in intelligence. Lets see how the kids today would hold up taking an exam form 40 years ago.

[dreamweaver]

City accountants Madeley-Finnegan
Have Richard and Judy found a new job? ;)

[anahata]

We all expect so much of everyone.

Ok so education came along and majority in this country have been reading and writing since about the mid 1800's, written knowledge doubles something like every 10 years and each generation is expected to attain a level of knowledge to keep society running at the pace it’s been bought up to but if a kid doesn’t make this expectation they are ‘stupid’.

We are so caught up on getting everyone super educated. Why can’t we just chill out? Let the kids be kids, stop wrapping them in cotton wool and forcing exams on them as soon as they exit the womb maybe then they wouldn’t be so frustrated and they might start using their brains because they want to.

Look to places of poverty, there are kids who are so keen to be educated yet will never have the opportunity to. I met a little girl in Peru who had one dream and that was to go to school… I doubt she will ever get the chance.
We’ve maintained such a wealthy lifestyle in this country that education is taken for granted. Kids get spoilt, obnoxious and ‘stupid’. They then don’t achieve and we slate them for it when really it’s us who should be setting realistic goals.

Schools in the UK have such a negative attitude on working in ‘low class’ industries. Kids are lectured on having to get top grades and go to Uni and come out with some ridiculous degree and get a career, well guess what? Society doesn’t run that way and now we are reliant on foreign workers to do all the ‘shitty’ jobs. Then we complain that they are taking them all!!!

Pshh sorry for the rant but its all arse over tits!