skeldon_man posted:Baseman posted:skeldon_man posted:Amral posted:yep at Leonora govt school we did under the leadership of Ben Moses. We learnt up to 25 times tables out of memory
We had to do up to 16 times only. You had to be on your feet when the teacher calls on you or else...
You had to learn those tables like a calypso song!
If learning those tables grew hair on your chest, we would have looked like a caveman. Damn, that developed some discipline in you. I was a good speller and arithmetic kid.
Some of us took pride in knowing these multiple tables and other things at school. Jus imagine, flawlessly repeating 1x1 to 15x15 tables, while all dem girls in the class watching and asking you to teach them during recess.
Years after college in Canada, I had an issue with my car battery and the mechanic wanted to replace my good alternator. When I told him about batteries that operated radio equipment, he said what do you know. I repeated from memory a long formula for the chemical action for a wet cell battery, that has now faded from my memory, with the hazards of life.
I first wrote a radio officer's exam in 1969 with some subjects at 100% pass mark. All I wanted at the time was to pass, so I can work on ships. But it was not until recently, when I converted the license to an advance amateur certificate, that I was told I passed the subjects with honours. I was good at geography and other hands-on things.