http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Before I
retired, I was a librarian working in public libraries here in the UK. It has
been a source of great concern to me in recent years that a growing of children
and young people asking for help in finding material for homework projects had
such poor literacy and numeracy skills. For some adults too, of course, that
may not have had the benefit of much formal education, these skills same remain
underdeveloped.
It has
always seemed to me that numeracy is somehow seen as the poor relation to
literacy even though a grasp of number is every bit as important as a grasp of
letters.
‘Karl’ and ‘Brett’ once wrote in to tell me how getting help to improve their numeracy skills ‘by leaps and bounds’ had considerably boosted their self-confidence. Karl says ‘Numbers were like a foreign language. I could not make any sense of them. I was made to feel I was in a
minority and was too ashamed to ask for help. I got paranoid and it felt like there was some sort of conspiracy against people like me. I didn’t realise so many people
have the same problem. Now I can even work out rail and bus timetables. Before finding a really good (home) teacher I was clueless
about the 2400 hours clock.’
Believe
me Karl, 2400 hours timetables confuse a LOT of people.
This poem
is a villanelle.
MAKING SENSE OF NUMBERS
It can
feel like a conspiracy,
(the
world an enemy)
this
nightmare, innumeracy
Out
shopping, and invariably
spending
too much money;
it can
feel like a conspiracy
Debts spiraling
relentlessly
(affront
to integrity)
this
nightmare, innumeracy
I
look at my friends and envy
their budgeting
effortlessly;
it can
feel like a conspiracy
I once
confessed ashamedly
to life
turning sour on me,
this
nightmare, innumeracy
I found support
and sympathy
and help
for others like me;
it can
feel like a conspiracy,
this
nightmare, innumeracy
Copyright
R. N. Taber 2010
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