Mental Arithmetic
62Column first appeared in the Whitstable Gazette 19/08/2010
A friend of mine bought some goods from a well known local supermarket. The bill came to £4.96. He handed the assistant a fiver and then, to minimise the change in his pocket, another 6p.
That’s clear enough isn’t it? He was expecting 10p in change, instead of which the shop assistant gave him £1. So, being an honest sort of a chap, he told the girl that she’d made a mistake.
“What, haven’t I given you enough?” the assistant groaned, obviously peeved at the complex mental manoeuvres she was being asked to perform.
“No, you’ve given me too much,” he said, and then patiently began to explain what it was he was expecting. Even then she couldn’t get it right and gave him 20p instead. At which point my friend gave up. “You just can’t help some people,” he thought, pocketing the money.
Those of us brought up on mental arithmetic would have had no problem with this. We learned to add and subtract in our heads. When I was a barman, before the advent of electronic tills, you would have to tot the bill up as you were going along. Woe betide you if you made a mistake, as the customer was usually keeping a tally too, and would be quick to point it out to you.
What are the kids being taught these days? At one stage they were allowed to use calculators in their maths exams. I don’t know if this is still the case, but one thing is certain: they can’t add up any more.
With tills that do it all for you, there’s no incentive for people to learn the simple art of mental arithmetic. It’s a matter of training. If you never walked your legs would shrivel up. It’s the same with the brain. You need to put it to work in order for it to function properly.
No one is asking shop assistants to engage in trans-dimensional calculus while they’re adding up your bill, but they should at least be able to tell the difference between a 10p piece and a £1 coin.
- CJ STONE
"Stone writes with intelligence, wit and sensitivity" Times Literary Supplement - CJStone on HubPages
Hello. If you are a writer you are welcome here. It's a weird compulsion we share. In my life nothing was ever quite real until it was written... - CJ Stone on Facebook
- CJ Stone on Twitter
CJ Stone on HubPages: latest
- A Memorial for Gremo: Vote for Iain Gremo's song on YouBloom
Vote for Iain Gremo's song 'Ants' on YouBloom. - 3 days ago
- The Fragile Ego
I was there to sell my book to the salesmen and women whose job it was to sell my book to the retailers, whose job it would be to sell my book to the public. - 5 days ago
- From ACT UP to the WTO: A Review
The word is zeitgeist. The spirit of the times. To have been around in any era, to have participated, even on a peripheral level, is to have absorbed some of its imperatives, some of its meaning. - 5 days ago
CommentsLoading...
Hi Steve, but you're not being employed to take people's money in a supermarket are you? That's the point. You'd think a certain basic knowledge of how to add and subtract would be the first requirement of the job.
I am not, no, Chris, but actually knowing how hopeless I am with arithmetic has put me off ever applying for such jobs or barwork! My father could never understand why I couldn't follow simple maths procedures because he is brilliant with maths. I can work sums out if I concentrate and have time and a pen and paper but not quick like most people. It's a disadvantage because it means I have to trust that change I am given is right to some extent.
Interesting that someone besides me is disgusted with this. In my job I work with simple arithmetic quite often and it astounds me that new, younger employees cannot do the most simple addition and multiplication. 2 X 7.5 just isn't that hard, and neither is adding 1/2 and 3/4, but many young people just out of high school simply can't handle it.
It seems that the basics are being left behind in our schools, and without an understanding of the roots I don't believe a person can ever truly understand the whole. But then, I'm not an educator and it seems it is more important to learn other things. Underwater basket weaving, maybe.
The next few decades may be interesting as these folks grow up and take their place in society.
People designing the curricula are not educators but bureaucrats who keep moving the goal posts so there is no continuity anymore when it comes to education and especially in Mathematics. I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments in this hub but am reluctant to blame the children who are simply not being directed properly. Every child needs to learn tables and until they go back to making this a requirement in Primary School the problem will persist. Thank you for a great hub.
No I don't blame the kids either.
Kentish Gazette on-line
- 24/05/2012: Front Page: GRIDLOCK!
And as the town gets ready for another extended holiday break the traffic chaos has led Island Wall resident Philip Carr to ask the council to do something to sort out the problem before it is too late.
- 24/05/2012: Front Page: Written in Stone
There was a programme on the TV recently called Britain’s Biggest Hoarders. In it, the presenter took us around the houses of Alan Burgess and Richard Pout, two chronic hoarders. Firstly we have to be clear what we mean here. This is not just a case of...
- 24/05/2012: Front Page: Golden sunset over the beach
This beautiful sunset over the beach at Swalecliffe was taken by Tony Smith, of Seaview Chalet Park, St John’s Road, Whitstable. Every week we feature pictures taken by our readers. Send your submissions with your name, address and a daytime telephone...
Bard of Ely Level 6 Commenter 21 months ago
Chris, I can actually understand these people who can't add quickly. I was never able to do arithmetic in school and once had 4% in an exam although I had 85 in algebra. I am not much better now though fortunately have improved over the years but I still make mistakes. The man who collects the bills here has got used to me but he must think I am an idiot as I often make mistakes even when he has written the total figure down. I have some sort of number dyslexia! I usually work out roughly how much I need before I go shopping.