9 x 12=? Are children taught multiplication where you live?
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
Eugene, Oregon
May 12, 2017 1:21pm CST
I am admittedly pretty old (in years, at least) and attended several different elementary schools as a kid, not because they asked me to leave, but because we moved a lot.
But, in each one of those schools, the multiplication tables were drilled into my head. One year, second or third grade, I think, I was in a Catholic school (though we were not Catholic) and Sister Collette was insistent about our memorizing those tables up through the number 12.
I am curious about the US and other countries as well. Does England still teach this subject?
I think it was a good thing to learn and I have used that knowledge all my life.
My daughter, now 28, was not taught her times tables at all. I am always surprised when she is not able to calculate things using multiplication.
So, I wonder if you were taught the times tables? Do they still teach multiplication where you live? Do you think it is important to know?
21 people like this
22 responses
@FourWalls (86875)
• United States
12 May 17
9x12=108. And I don't think so. I was at a Subway a couple of weeks ago and their cash register was down, so the clerk had to figure the charges and change manually. It was ugly.
6 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
I can imagine how slowly those lines would move.
2 people like this
@marguicha (230365)
• Chile
12 May 17
I´m as old as the planet and I was taught the multiplication tables. I confess that I still have problems with 7 x 8, but that is all. I don´t know if my grandchildren know them, but I do know that my daughters had the same nightmare.
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (169585)
• United States
13 May 17
@marguicha the trick to 7x8 is to think of it backwards. 56=7x8 . 5678 That one was a hard one for me as well.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230365)
• Chile
13 May 17
@GardenGerty Although I am not sure if the lesson comes too late, I´m glad I finally will be able to remember quickly
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
I wonder if the teaching of them has dropped off everywhere?
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (190005)
• Boise, Idaho
12 May 17
I remember that I had to know my multiplication tables before i left the fourth grade. I remember my mom made me a graph to help me. Yes, I do think it is important to know but I also think that importance has gone by the way side because now days we have calculators.
3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
I suppose there are calculators on their phones.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (190005)
• Boise, Idaho
14 May 17
@JamesHxstatic ......Yes, there are free apps for that.
@amadeo (111937)
• United States
13 May 17
@JamesHxstatic well the teaching methods is all together different.New generation.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
It would be a good idea for kids to learn those as a life skill.
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
12 May 17
Kids of today are taught totally different than i was taught. My foster mother taught me a trick to remember my 9 X up to 9X12 at least. Here how it worked. The answer adds up to 9. On the number you are multiplying from 2 to 10 you minus 1 from the number to get the first number of the answer.
9X2=18 (2-1=1 1+8=9)
9X3=27 (3-1=2 2+7=9)
9X4=36 (4-1=3 3+6=9)
9X5=45 (5-1=4 4+5=9) and so forth. 9X12=108 (1+0+8=9 the minus 1 rule does not work here)
3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
Good trick here. I just had to memorize.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
That would be an interesting question to ask the grand kids.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99367)
• Atlanta, Georgia
13 May 17
@JamesHxstatic Yes. If I think about it I will ask them.
@LeaPea2417 (40061)
• Toccoa, Georgia
12 May 17
Yes, I was taught the times tables and yes my kids were taught it at their school. It is very important to know and I am shocked your daughter was not made to learn them! What is going on with education if they don't stress the times tables?
3 people like this
@LeaPea2417 (40061)
• Toccoa, Georgia
13 May 17
@JamesHxstatic That is so wrong in my opinion. Every person should learn them in school.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
It is apparently one of those things that are not considered important for people to know anymore.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98129)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
12 May 17
I was in grade school through the 1960s you bet we had to learn those darn multiplication tables. I thought I would flip but we had to do it.
Of course the rest of my life I was glad I was taught this.
Of course the rest of my life I was glad I was taught this.3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
And now they seem to be considered unneccessary.
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10782)
• Canada
13 May 17
Surprised to hear some kids are not taught this essential skill. I was taught it and I am sure my kids were too.
3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
I wonder if the times tables have been dropped everywhere in the US and Canada?
@TheHorse (238361)
• Walnut Creek, California
13 May 17
I was taught multiplication, but I don't think the emphasis was on memorization. I like knowing what multiplication means. For something like 6 x 7, I still have to do a quick calculation (3 x 7 = 21, so two of that = 42), though I have most (e.g., 9 x 9 = 81) memorized. When I work with kids, I emphasize the meaning, and say things like "4 x 5 means four rows of five." They can do it rocks, Hot Wheels, or even slashes on paper.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
The memorization worked with me, though I never did like math. I still remember the whole thing. It is good to know the meaning of course and your method sounds like a good one.
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
12 May 17
Oh yes, I was taught the times tables. I still do ok until I get past the 10s.
Generally, though, if math is involved the fog rolls into my brain. For me, it's words not numbers, since as far back as I can remember.
I don't have a clue what kids are being taught these days. Other than computer skills, that is.
3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
Computer skills are good too, but those times tables are great to know when you wonder what 40% off an item is.
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
13 May 17
@JamesHxstatic ...or when figuring a tip. I guess they used their smart phones for such things.
@DeborahDiane (40851)
• Laguna Woods, California
13 May 17
@JamesHxstatic - I worked in a local high school for ten years and was shocked when kids would ask me to multiply something for them ... not just numbers like 7 x 8, but easy ones like 3 x 5. I would be stunned! They do teach the multiplication tables for a while in elementary school, but then they let them start using calculators in 4th or 5th grade, and it is all over. They forget how to do the math themselves. I think it is sad.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
It seems almost criminal to me to shortchange kids of something so useful all through life.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
Isn't one of your daughters a teacher? I wonder if they teach it at her school.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40851)
• Laguna Woods, California
13 May 17
@JamesHxstatic - Two of our daughters are teachers. One of them actually teaches sixth grade math. She does do timed practice of the times tables but also allows her students to use calculators (which I don't think they should use until at least the later years of high school, when they get into calculus and trig.) The other one teaches emotionally disturbed elementary school kids and most of them are behind in school, so they are not good ones to compare.
@paigea (36143)
• Canada
13 May 17
I am 62 and so of course was expected to memorize my times tables. We were drilled and drilled and drilled. Useless waste of time, I could NOT memorize them. Hated math as a result. Much better the way it is taught now. Children are still taught the times table, but emphasis is on what it means.
Many still memorize the times table, timed drills are used, but more time is spent using the math and discovering patterns and relationships to develop numeracy. So, those who can't memorize (me) can still find mathematics fascinating.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
I always hated math, took science in college to avoid it.
@teamfreak16 (43664)
• Denver, Colorado
12 May 17
Oh, it was definitely taught where I grew up. I have no idea about now.
3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
It seems doubtful from what I read.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169585)
• United States
13 May 17
I am in Kansas, and I work in an elementary school. At second grade they are just barely touching on multiplication. Third grade is when it is emphasized. Fourth grade is expected to polish it. They also learn plane geometry, but I am not sure they call it that. My daughter is homeschooling, She admits she has not forced the oldest to memorize the times tables, but she understands about them.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
18 May 17
Yes, children here are taught multiplication, but in a manner that is totally different!
We advise parents who are concerned about education that the schools are merely a sitter and the teaching comes from the parents
Many don't want to hear that, but you are older and will probably agree that parents MUST teach their children the real things they need to learn
Some parents have told us they are too busy, they work (well, they are supposed to work, so get over it) and the teachers should tend to all that is needed, which is a shame because kids need the knowledge their parents can share
Many don't want to hear that, but you are older and will probably agree that parents MUST teach their children the real things they need to learn
Some parents have told us they are too busy, they work (well, they are supposed to work, so get over it) and the teachers should tend to all that is needed, which is a shame because kids need the knowledge their parents can share1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 May 17
I learned what I learned from good teachers really. My mother, born in 1901, did not go far in education, but she did speak proper English. She was not qualified to teach me much. I was only a good student in languages and history really and struggled through math and science courses.
My daughter had good teachers too and it was a good thing since I was a single full-time parent for most of her school years and worked full-time as well. Schools still need to teach, it seems to me and I am glad we had good ones here for my daughter.
@garymarsh6 (24078)
• United Kingdom
13 May 17
You may consider yourself old but we too were certainly schooled in this way. Sadly I do not think enough emphasis is put on this method of rote learning these days which I find quite bizarre. They can use calculators in class and computers. I have recently seen a photo of some ingenious school putting the times tables on the up step of a flight of stairs which I think is a brilliant way of reintroducing this. It is astounding when you go in a shop and the assistant can't add up three items in their head without the aid of a calculator!
2 people like this
@responsiveme (22923)
• India
13 May 17
We did the drill first thing in the morning... Now no longer and that has proved a deterrent to learning maths.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 May 17
Sorry to hear that it not considered important there either.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
15 May 17
I was forced... uh.... I mean.... required to learn multiplication tables. (Can you tell I hate math?) But then I was homeschooled, too. To be honest I do most things with a calculator now... heh heh. Whups.
I am shocked that they don't teach it any more.
@ranan1989 (385)
•
13 May 17
First of all it is very important to us and in our country we have learnt it by getting into 2nd standards
2 people like this
