Place-value notation

	“Place-value notation” is the third chapter in “Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs”, by Richard Elwes. It is preceded only by “The evolution of counting” and “Tallies”. Note, the author said columns…
…the point being, to use place-value notation but to not allow young children to add and subtract in columns is utterly perverse. This is precisely what the system was designed for.

And before we hear any more dogma, let’s go back to the facts. In 2011, 48% of 5572 New Zealand students averaging 9.9 years of age could not answer correctly a question that involved adding two three-digit numbers.

Come on, people, let’s give these kids a fighting chance.