AIBU to wonder why English teachers don't fight Maths teachers?

[GRex]

Every week we get the primary maths homework with questions like:
"What number is 41 less than 54?"

It's like nails down my psychological blackboard. How do the teachers responsible for the English programme cope? Why does nobody take the battle forward for fewer? What is so scary about the maths teachers that none of the rest stand and fight this out for the greater good?

I would still judge an English teacher who wrote "What number is 41 fewer than 54?", it implies they're unaware of fractions.
41 cats is fewer than 54.

£41 is less than £54.

41 apples is fewer than 54.

41 litres is less than 54 litres.

41 is less than 54.

Isn’t that the point? The English teachers get cross about the superlative, the maths teachers about the unequal ‘halves’

It is technical vocabulary that is correct in the sense it is being used.

I wouldn’t battle an English teacher over ‘incorrectly’ using weight when they mean mass because I understand the difference between ‘weight’ in Physics and ‘weight’ in normal usage.

Another example might be ‘heavy’ vs ‘dense’ and there are lots more that don’t immediately spring to mind.

Words have different meanings and usages depending on context.

Yes, my chemistry teacher would get terribly exercised over the inaccurate use of ‘amount’ in everyday speech.

The operative is called "Less than" not "Fewer than" because if it were called "Fewer" than it could only apply to integers and mathematical operators are equally applicable to non-integer numbers.

"13.0 is 41.0 less than 54.0" is both grammatically and mathematically correct and so is "13.1 is 41.0 less than 54.1". Replacing "less than" with "fewer than" would not be, and it's unreasonable to expect maths teachers to be responsible for teaching the difference.

Same! (Although my degree is Arts not Maths!)

As always, first answer nailed it, thanks.

This is more accurate, but fewer funny 😁.

The entire set of real numbers isn't countable; it is continuous.

Incidentally, the primary school teachers who specialise in English rather than Maths tend to be the ones who don't know the meaning of the word "sum". (Can you tell I'm a bitter Maths specialist?)

The English teachers are too busy doing their marking.

Hmmm. The problem here is that you are incorrect, OP. In that example, it is right to use less, not fewer.

There’s nothing wrong with that question. Numbers are either greater than, equal to or less than others.
A sponsored Teacher Fight Day might be fun, though. Better than run of the mill CPD.

Yeah the English and maths teachers would be united on this one.

Because many English teachers are terrible at maths and are afraid that someone will find out that they are flummoxed by percentages if a test isn’t out of 100. 😂

This is more accurate, but fewer funny 😁.

I see what you did there OP, bravo!

If it's primary aren't they teaching both anyway? Also I would say " How much is 54 minus 41".

I thought the English teachers were winning this war having colonised maths by inserting words where they don’t belong. You don’t see numbers popping up in the English classroom.

As I’m onto hour 8 of mock marking (a full Lang Paper and a full Lit paper) whilst my Maths’ colleagues can bang out their papers in a PPA, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!

"less than" is a mathematical term

If it's primary, surely it's the same teacher?

I expect he or she is beating him or herself up about it. Stressful.

myplace · Today 07:35

I hope he doesn't teach English!
Isn’t that the point? The English teachers get cross about the superlative, the maths teachers about the unequal ‘halves’

My point was that it should have been bigger, not biggest...

Yes, that's the joke. The maths teacher would point out that if they're different sizes they aren't halves, but the English teacher would say 'bigger, not biggest'.

And meanwhile the PE teacher would scoff the cake.

Ooh, who would win though? I mean, you'd think the PE teachers but I reckon chemistry teachers would win if subject-specific props were allowed - a cloud of sulphur dioxide and job done.