Maths and English

Should Maths and English be compulsory in so many Emploment openings or could someone without the grade do just as good a job with/without aides ? Your views?

i think it depends on what the job is, i think the vast majority of jobs would require u 2 hav a good grasp of the English language, i dont think numeracy is as necessary, but still very important. at either end of the food chain, most jobs will require u 2b able 2 read and add up, but at the same time im not sure that understanding quadratic equations would hav that many uses working as a painter and decorator 4 example. personally id want my employee to have qualifications, it shows that the person im employing has a proven record in achieving somethin thru a good work-ethic

English is essential in the workplace, especially nowadays where the use of computers or writing of reports is so commonplace. The general state of English in the young people of this country is atrocious, no other industrialised country that I can think of has so many people that cannot read, write and speak their native tongue correctly. A major drawback to English now is the use of American computer products, such as Microsoft, which tend to teach people to speak American rather than English, so many people don’t even realise that they are spelling words incorrectly, because their spell checker is saying that it’s fine.

I was amused there to read that you didn’t thin that maths was that useful as a painter and decorator. What about calculating the quote or bill? Or that Pythagoras’ theorem itself was developed during the building of the pyramids in order to work out how to give a right angle. Wouldn’t you also need it to work out the quantities to mix together for the plaster?

There is a great reliance upon computers and calculators nowadays, and it does make us lazy when it comes to maths (I have noticed it myself as an accountant that I had got so used to using a calculator or computer that when I tried to add up in my head I couldn’t do it anymore). But we still need to know how to do it, however much we may rely on a computer or calculator, if only for when the batteries go flat.

Without the basic knowledge of English and Maths, you will find it extremely hard in any line of work, and in applying for the work initially too in the letter.

i think u misunderstand me, i think that basic maths is needed in any job. everyone will at some point need to be able to add up etc, but my point was when it comes to algebra and things like that, there will be some people who will never need it.

English and, slightly less so, maths, are surely the two most important academic subjects to be taught. As well as the direct and practical benefits of knowing basic maths, it also encourages us to think in a rational and logical way. Learning english doesn't tend to do this because its grammar can be all over the place; however, it does allow us to express things in a rational way (as well as in an aesthetically pleasing way).
Over the last fifteen or so years I think that there's been a tendency to over-diagnose dyslexia, and that some people have used this as an excuse not to perserve with improving their english or maths. All too often, if you label someone with a condition, then it's tempting to say 'I was born that way so there's nothing I can do about it'. I'm not saying that everyone who has been diagnosed dyslexic thinks this way, or isn't really dyslexic, only that this applies to some people.