Nice people thread 2 - now even nicer

carolt

Yes, I've been upping my maths skills too as currently tutoring my DD1 for 11+ exam. I was shocked :eek: by how much she hasn't covered at school that she'll be tested on in a few months, so have taken on the role of maths teacher, despite the fact that my last study of maths was my O Level over 20 years ago!

It's going quite well and after a few initial hiccups where she refused to pay attention because I was her mum - - we're now working together well, and her test score has gone up enormously.

Been interesting to get back into maths again. Pleased to report that 11+ maths is not terribly demanding when one is a grown-up.

carolt

SingleSue wrote: »

So, now I see a phone number once, even a glance and I can remember it days later, or an account number and it is there for instant recall, even my 16 digit card number is remembered....pity the old gift for text hasn't quite returned though, would have been blooming handy for the exam this year if it had!

Yes, I'm like that, too. Really feel I ought to write stuff down, as often I'm the only one who knows the numbers.

Was handy for studying history, too - I could always remember the dates (even if not the full name of the thing that happened then ).

Funnily enough, I have the worst memory for faces. I'm sure I'm frequently mistaken for terribly rude, just because I have absolutely no recollection of having met people before.

vivatifosi

lemonjelly wrote: »

This is a dying art.
When I was at university, I had a bar job in a local. The LL had the prices on stickers on the backs of the pumps.....

....The young people I see now in the college will reach straight for the calculator on their phone. Take that off them, they don't have a clue...

I'm glad I'm on the nice people thread, because otherwise what I'm going to type would be slated for the lack of references... Anyhow, I once watched a programme on TV which showed that the some of the most developed mental mathematics skills are held by street children who don't know how to read or write, but need to be able to do maths in their head very quickly in order to hustle and survive. You're right, its all about practice.

carolt

Aspiring_Writer wrote: »

Besides, I've got to be a writer, I look like one! I even have my glasses on a cord, I listen to Radio 4, read loads of books and nod sagely when Grumpy Old Men are pontificating on the subject of the day!

OK, the last one is because I am of a certain age, nothing to do with writing at all. In all seriousness, I have been writing and studying the art/craft of writing for years.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Do you want to set some goals we can monitor you on or something? Keep you motivated?

Your hobbies make you sound like a kindred spirit.

Astonished you didn't find our board before - you fit right in.

tomterm8

Maths is a strange subject with me. I am very limited as far as mental arithmetic is concerned. Can't do basic sums worth a d****n. Never was able to learn the times table. But I came top out of 200 students in maths in my first year degree course, because it involved all kinds of set arithmetic, and various types of logic that just find intuitive and simple.

Davesnave

I hated maths at school so was completely useless at it. At ten, I only learned fractions and my tables to avoid being sent for more lessons to the scary Miss Braddick. (She lived in a creepy old Victorian house and had a moustache!)

When I began as a primary teacher, I was forced to go back to basics myself, and find ways of making maths more 'fun.' There's no way of faking it with kids. As a result, I gained much more sympathy for the subject, and even enjoyed teaching it.

Of course, I already had sympathy for the kids to whom it seemed a closed book. I'd have some who'd say things like, 'I'm sorry Mr Snave, but I still don't get this even though you've showed me twice.' I would just reply 'Don't apologise, it's what I'm paid for. If you ask 20 times, you're still much better than the kids who nod and pretend to know, or the ones who don't care. They are the real pains in the bum!'

lostinrates

I just have to tell you all this. My room is absolutely thick with the scent of rose from the roses growing around the window. The whole house and garden is like being in a perfumiers atm (apart from the boiler room where we have had a diesel leak!) but my room is so densely yet lightly filled ith the clovey, myrrh-filled, floral scent of English rose that you cn almost see it.

Exocet

lostinrates wrote: »

I just have to tell you all this. My room is absolutely thick with the scent of rose from the roses growing around the window. The whole house and garden is like being in a perfumiers atm (apart from the boiler room where we have had a diesel leak!) but my room is so densely yet lightly filled ith the clovey, myrrh-filled, floral scent of English rose that you cn almost see it.

Could just be the drains? Better get them checked.

Davesnave

Exocet wrote: »

Could just be the drains? Better get them checked.

I've met your sort!

Never one to miss a chance to sweet-talk a lady, eh?

Lir beware, he'll be offering to come around to plunge them with his rods next...:rotfl:

Meanwhile, I'm off to check-out the field for obstructions I may have missed earlier. The silage man cometh....

John_Pierpoint

PasturesNew wrote: »

I used to (occasionally) win drinks in pubs for being able to beat a calculator in maths. People got bored of it though as they kept having to buy me drinks.

Peculiarly, the gift left me suddenly when I was about 23.

There is a good programme on Radio 4 at lunch time on Fridays called
"More or Less" - seems there has been another World Cup championship for mental arithmetic.

The winner was aged 11 BUT did not have the Maths understanding to adapt to the joker round, where the nature of the sums was not known in advance. (Identify cube & higher roots in your head).