I can't stop thinking about the opinion I heard today about preferring to have students learn two-letter country codes rather than multiplication tables. They are both straight facts. Also, both can be found easily or quickly with a calculator or a quick search, but I think one is more useful to know than the other. When doing simple calculations (or more complex ones with simple components), it's very helpful to be able to do quick multiplication without needing a calculator. On the other hand, it seems like any time people would be using a country code, they would be able to look it up as part of the process. Thus, in my opinion, I think it's more valuable to know multiplication tables.
I agree! There are some things that we do need to have mastery of for the sake of knowing content quickly. I think history needs to have kids memorize country codes, and math should have time tables memorized.
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