Nor could I find evidence to support his main criticism

Paul Willis Marrickville Let's put Richard Dawkins's comment about Steve Fielding in perspective. Dawkins had just sat next to a man - a senator, no less - who weakly and ineloquently confirmed on national television his belief that the earth is about 6000 years old. The real issue here is how anyone espousing such a belief and all that comes with it, particularly someone who makes decisions affecting all of us, escapes with a mere name-calling. Brad Stafford Hurlstone Park Times tables claim does not add up I was shocked by Peter Brown's claim (Letters, March 13-14) that ''the seven times tables are not to be taught'' under the draft national mathematics curriculum. Shocked, because I had finished reading the draft that day, and one of the syllabus objectives for year 5 is ''becoming fluent with all multiplication facts including the seven times table''. Nor could I find evidence to support his main criticism, that ''the syllabus will force all teachers from kindergarten onwards to use calculators in the classroom''. However, it does say that year 1 students will ''develop a range of mental strategies for addition and subtraction problems''. Robert Yen Bradbury We should hold grave fears for our ability to produce scientists and engineers if the national curriculum writers share Ed Lewis's views (Letters, March 16) on what is important mathematically. Agreed, doing arithmetic with fractions is hard for many students, but even harder is progressing through basic algebra to higher mathematics if you still believe that ? + ? = 1/5. If we avoid hard topics because some students may struggle, the better students will be seriously disadvantaged. As for calculators, most teachers seem to realise there are many better tools for helping children develop number sense. It is noticeable how often bright students from those states where graphing calculators are prevalent lack basic knowledge because ''the calculator does all that''. Technology is great, but we won't develop the next generation of clever tools by hiding hard concepts and turning mathematics into a black box Rosetta Stone Software exercise. Associate Professor Ian Doust Head, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of NSW Ed Lewis suggests that knowing how to manipulate fractions ''isn't of much use in today's decimal world''. I'm guessing he doesn't spend much time in the kitchen. Michael McIntosh Little Bay It's clear Ed Lewis doesn't do craft. As someone who has sewed (by hand and machine), knitted and crocheted, I find it incredibly handy to be able to calculate 2? plus 1? in my head rather than reaching for a calculator. Megan Kemmis Marsfield Lamentable lack of language skills Although Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono occasionally reverted to Bahasa Indonesia during his visit, he addressed our Parliament in our language. How many Australian politicians - or even ambassadors - would have the same confidence in non-English speaking countries, Kevin Rudd excepted? Your editorial (''Moving beyond omong kosong'', March 16) rightly stresses the appalling state of engagement with language in Australia. When working in Indonesia a decade ago I was equally appalled by the arrogance and lack of cultural sensitivity of monolingual anglophones. We lazily think languages can be left to specialists. In other cultures professionals in all disciplines see fluency as part of a globalised job. When we need to revert to our wit, instead of just digging and shipping, our monolingual arrogance will come back to bite us. John Court Denistone The reasons given in your editorial for Australians not learning Indonesian are completely off track. To suggest it is primarily due to the government's travel advisory warnings and perceptions of Indonesia as a dangerous place is simplistic in the extreme.

Posted in: Rosetta Stone,Rosetta Stone Outlet,rosetta stone software,Rosetta Stone V3