i used to hate the times table but i definitely think it's essential to mental math. even if you vaguely remember it it will help. like knowing 42 shows up somewhere in the 7x and 6x may help you remember 6x7. or if you remember a neighbor you can just add or subtract the number once. for example if you don't remember 7x6 it definitely helps to know each neighbor (both of which are easier to me since one is a 5x and one is a square number)... so either you think about 7x5 which is 35 so you can add another 7 to it or 6x6 which is 36 so you can add another 6 to it.

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Oh I agree. My point wasn’t to say that rote memory is useless. I simply wanted to point out that it’s bad at teaching concepts. By teaching the concepts first, students are better prepared for later (more complicated) math courses. Anyone can memorize that 8x8 is 64, but understanding how to arrive at that answer is just as important.

[–] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago

I'm all for the multiple paths to solutions, but they aren't even doing times tables these days. We drill it a little at home, but he struggled with just getting it memorized. I don't know why they don't drill a little. Honestly, they seem to have the kids sitting on the computer doing adaptive math most of the time.

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 1 points 20 hours ago

yeah obviously, but i thought they were supposed to teach the times table after multiplication in general anyway