Explain this
Maths Made Easy Ages 10-11 Key Stage 2 Advanced
How the publisher describes it:
“Let Carol Vorderman help you to succeed in your National End-Key-Stage Assessments for Maths. Follow the exercises then reward yourself with gold stars for your efforts! Get a head start in Maths and be top of the class.”
Review by Jenny Murray
In brief:
“Maths Guidance to help your 10-11 year old be top of the class! [...] Let educational expert Carol Vorderman guide your child to success in Maths”. This claim comes from the web site. I hope not too many parents waste £3 with this aim in mind.
“I hope not too many parents waste £3 with this”
Carol Vordeman’s Maths Made Easy is a set of books for parents and their children. First take a look at the outside cover. This is what will sell the book to parents. Here (except for four lines inside the back cover) is the only connection with Carol Vordeman. Her picture and her name are on both the front and the back. Like “Cheddar” on the cheese in the supermarket, the name of the place is on the packing, but has very little to do with the contents. The word ‘prostitution’ comes to mind.
Inside the front cover there is a certificate and opposite that a page of gold stars for sticking onto it. This (I suppose) leads to the sentence on the back that made me giggle, “Not suitable for children under 3 years.” The book I have to review is for “Ages 10 - 11. Advanced.” The rest of the book brought me nearer to tears than laughter.
At the centre of the book is a pullout section for parents with answers and notes. This prevents what might be the use of it all. If parents and children puzzled over the material together, some good would come, although I would rather they discussed some more edifying mathematical material!
When I started teaching there was a joke around in primary schools. “What is yellow and dangerous?” Answer: “Shark infested custard!” It made me think of the maths in schools of the time. It also describes this book admirably. Now I have looked at the cover, the custard, I had better look at the sharks within. Inside there are 31 pages of calculations and other fairly tedious maths tasks.
I showed the book to a bright 11-year-old in Year 6. “This is Year 5 work”, he said, “Boring!” Remember, the copy I am looking at is “Ages 10 - 11. Advanced.” I showed it to his parents who thought it expensive and rather lacking in material on the spaced-out pages.
The book claims to be “Maths Made Easy”. Maths is not, and can never be, easy. There are some fortunate children who find primary maths effortless, but eventually they, too, will reach their frontier of understanding. When we reach the frontiers, then maths is not easy, it is hard work. And any book or method that claims otherwise, is deluding those that believe it.
“Maths Guidance to help your 10-11 year old be top of the class! [...] Let educational expert Carol Vorderman guide your child to success in Maths”. This claim comes from the web site. I hope not too many parents waste £3 with this aim in mind.
Jenny Murray • Independent Maths Consultant, Suffolk
Paperback: 40 pages
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley (2 Jun 2005)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1405309458
ISBN-13: 978-1405309455
Product Dimensions: 29 x 20.4 x 0.8 cm
