The idiom ‘rule of thumb’ has been around for over three centuries. When we wish to measure the length or width of an object and we don’t have a tape or ruler at hand, we sometimes make use of our thumb to do it. This way of calculating the length/breadth of something, will not give us the exact measurement, only an approximate one. So when you say that you are doing something by rule of thumb, you mean that what you are doing is based on experience or instinct, and not on exact calculation. This, many people believe, is the origin of the expression; however, it’s not true. The story behind the idiom is a little more sinister; one that is likely to cause the fairer sex to rave and rant.

In the old days when men were men and women were expected to be ‘seen, not heard’, it was standard practice among the menfolk to wield the cane not only against their little ones, but also against their ‘Missus.’ British law entitled a man to give his wife ‘moderate correction’ every now and then; in other words, it was legal to beat one’s wife. The British of course, are noted for their sense of fair play, and therefore it should come as no surprise that there were certain rules of combat which had to be strictly adhered to. The law stipulated that the thickness of the stick which the man used to beat his wife could not exceed that of his thumb. This was the rule of thumb, and as long as the man followed it, he could rain as many blows as he wanted to on his better half!

The husband did not have everything his own way. While the law permitted him to beat his wife, his hands were tied when it came to throwing rocks, stones or a ‘calculus’ (pebble) at her. In the old days, the harmless pebble wasn’t just used for counting; it was something that was employed to keep people out of certain clubs and well known organisations. It is this use of the pebble which gives us the expression ‘to blackball’ someone. Nowadays if you wish to become the member of a club, all you do is apply and appear before the Managing Committee for an interview. In the past, however, all the members of the club collectively decided as to whether you should be permitted to join or not. There was a secret ballot: members were requested to drop either a black or a white pebble into a box. If the black outnumbered the white, the majority didn’t want you as a member. You were ‘blackballed’; your application had been rejected. Later, the pebble was replaced by small balls made of wood. These wooden balls gave rise to the expression ‘blackballed’, and the word ‘ballot’, meaning ‘ball’. In the past, when you cast your ballot, you dropped a wooden ball into a box.

It is interesting to note that the practice of not throwing pebbles at politicians continues even today. As for shoes and slippers…. well that is a different matter altogether.

S Upendran teaches at The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. He can be reached at supendran@gmail.com.

St. Joseph’s had a Mathematics Club to which every year 10 students from B.Sc. first year were selected by Calculus Srinivasan. To this club Prof. Iyengar used to give a series of lectures. One day, in 1952, I still remember, he gave us a one-hour lecture on ancient mathematicians and astronomers of India and introduced four great mathematicians and astronomers. The lecture still rings in my ears. During these lectures I was introduced to Aryabhata, Bhaskara and Ramanujam — pioneers in astronomy and mathematics. These scientists gave the world, the concept of zero, the orbit period of earth around the sun and recently, number theory.

Bird Story
My teacher in Class-V, way back in 1940, Sri Sivasubramania Iyer, a great human being, taught us science amongst other subjects. One day he was teaching us how birds fly. The importance of the shape of the bird, how it flaps its wings to create lift, how it gains momentum, how the tail gives it direction, and so on. He taught well, but somehow, we could not visualise how birds flew. Then one day he took us to the sea shore and there, at sunset, we watched the sea birds, fly. We watched them flap their wings then stop as they gained momentum and change the direction with a movement of the tail feathers. That day, I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I would study the science of flight. My teacher, his life and his way of teaching showed me the way.

While classroom learning is important, what the child learns by observation outside the classroom is equally important. A child must become an active participant in the process of learning through observation, field studies, experiments and discussions. A child’s individuality and creativity needs to be given due importance in our education. Further, in addition to innovation in curriculum, priority needs to be given to the reorientation of the outlook of the teachers and the overhauling of the examination system so that it recognises and evaluates creativity and new thinking rather than memorisation of facts.

The two teachers I have talked about provided the foundation for my learning. They gave me hope and taught me values I needed in my life. My teachers of primary, secondary and college education had put me a few decades ahead. This is indeed the vision.

This double issue of Teacher Plus looks at a subject that excites a whole range of emotions among children as well as adults, emotions like hate and confusion to extreme joy and involvement. Children either dislike math, feeling inadequate and unable to handle it, or instantly take to it despite the unimaginative ways in which it is generally presented. The link between basic mathematical concepts and life skills such as estimation, spatial analysis, sorting and grouping of elements, is rarely made, thus making math out to be even more of an enigma than it needs to be.

The articles in this issue take apart mathematics teaching and explore ways in which it can help build conceptual understanding, using tools and techniques that integrate mathematical learning to learning about life. Even before leading up to mathematical operations that can confuse and confound, teachers need to make the mathematics classroom a friendly space, where number phobias are not allowed to build up and ruin any future chances of learning the subject.

Whether a child decides to take on mathematics as a central area of study later in life, it is important that he/she learns to appreciate the essential role it plays in nearly everything we do. As Former President Dr Abdul Kalam says, in the last word column of this issue, a teacher who can demonstrate this link can make all the difference. And as always, we at Teacher Plus welcome your feedback and suggestions – on this issue and others we have discussed. In another month, Teacher Plus turns twenty… and as we approach the beginning of our third decade, we’d like to know from you all how far, and how much, the ideas we talk about relate to your individual classrooms!