 |
An education adviser explains why we need to think metric
|
John Muir
|
|
Politicians have consistently ignored the lead given by schools and
have left us in a land where petrol is sold in litres and measured in
miles per gallon. It is generally acknowledged that metric units have
been the primary ones in education in Britain since 1974 and in many
cases were introduced earlier. Britain has delivered petrol from the
pumps in litres for well over a decade yet after three decades of metric
education there is no plan to complete the conversion to encompass all
measurement in society.
A good number of years ago, increasingly aware that my own children
were part of a mathematically confused generation, I put pen to paper
to suggest that society was out of step with education as far as metrication
was concerned. When I embarked on a career in primary education in the
early seventies, the teaching of imperial measures was forbidden; textbooks
that mentioned them were purged and even conversion charts were discouraged.
Why, then, despite two generations of young people emerging from schools,
do most of us fail to "think metric"? If asked your weight
or height, do you reply in metric terms? Probably not, even if you had
it drilled into you at school. There are those, of course, who would
argue that common metaphoric parlance, such as "a yardstick to measure
against", "give him an inch and he takes a mile", and "she
always wants her pound of flesh" are undermined by the mere mention
of metrication. I concede that "give him a centimetre and he'll
take a kilometre" does not ring true. However, I am in no doubt
that the current confusion, and the occasional public show of defiance,
is down to the fact that successive governments have failed to follow
the 30-year lead of schools.
While class lessons in mental arithmetic may be making a welcome comeback,
the maths curriculum is solidly built on a metric foundation. Any suggestion
that teaching in our currency should revert to bases other than 10 would
be rejected at the highest level. Surely, then, there should be an "M
for Metrication Day" when, once and for all, any remaining imperial
measurements would go the way of pounds, shillings and pence as decreed
on "D for Decimal Day" all those years ago. Imagine the chaos
there would be at the tills if we had kept the old penny, the half crown
and the ten bob note to be used whenever we liked alongside new pence.
Yet, in terms of the move to the metrication of measure, we are doing
just that.
It is not only foreign visitors who are bemused to find a society that
sells milk in containers all marked in litres but some of a "pint" size;
or where petrol is sold in litres, but whose citizens think of the performance
of their cars in terms of miles to the gallon. And where else in Europe
do they measure floor space in square metres but insist on road signs
giving distances in miles?
The reality is that it did not cost much to tell shopkeepers to change
to metric measures but it would certainly cost more to change all our
road signs. There is a certain hypocrisy here, which defies logic and
causes confusion in maths teaching.
We are moving in half measures in the UK. It is as though, on joining
Europe, we had decided to phase in a decision to drive on the right side
of the road. For the first month public transport would move to the opposite
side, cars would follow after that. Two-wheeled vehicles would continue
to have a choice for the foreseeable future.
If we don't do something about our pick-and-mix system of measurement,
we will be the laughing stock of Europe, long after we have made up our
minds on whether or not to join the euro. Worse than this, Britain is
playing an irresponsible and cynical game with its children's education.
By failing to complete the full adoption of metric units, British governments
have undermined the foundation of the mathematical curriculum. Is it
any wonder that today's children are both mathematically confused and
failing to reach their potential in numeracy?
Appreciating measurement is a life skill that is learned both at school
and at home and is intimately linked with numeracy. The present "schizophrenic" policy
on units of measure is having an effect in the development of our children's
understanding and ability to cope with key mathematical skills in our
society. They are able to calculate in metric but face imperial in the
media, at home and on the roads. The result is a disjointed world -
one part for certain calculations (metric), the other for everyday parlance
(imperial).
It is time to end the mathematical confusion of our children by adopting
the metric system once and for all across society. While the Government
must lead by legislation, you needn't wait till Westminster takes a vote.
If you have children at school, use metric measures with them in the
home, whether it is with the mixing bowl in the kitchen, checking their
size for those new clothes or on the bathroom scales to find out if your
diet is working!
John is an education adviser with The Highland Council. He writes regularly on educational matters in various publications and is the author of several books.