I’ve never really thought about time unless it’s how long my garlic bread is going to take in the oven or how much longer I need to wait on a train. But there is almost a kind of science behind time and it is actually something which influences the way the world works.

Something that we were asked was if animals could tell the time. Initially, I thought this was a ridiculous question. Of course they can’t because they can’t even read. But, animal can tell what time of year it is. Now is a perfect time to see this for ourselves as we can see birds in their arrow formation flying south for the winter to warmer climates to aid their survival.

We were also asked why it is important to humans and this list could be almost endless. We use time in everything we do. We need to know when to get up in the morning to stop us being late for lectures, for example. However, those who attend Christ Church College in Oxford can have that extra five minutes in bed we all want when that dreaded alarm goes off. The college stills keeps to tradition by tolling the Great Tom bell signalling 9am at five minutes past nine. This is similar to the clock at the Balmoral Hotel at Waverly station in Edinburgh. This is three minutes fast so if you look at it and you’re running late for your train you, hopefully, should not miss it!

Historically, the use of time was vital. Standardisation of time did not really come into play until the 17 and 1800s. This was when Britain first began trading with a variety of different continents and the time each ship would set sail was key in order for the goods from this country reaching a variety of places across the world. An important location for Dundee was India with the Jute industry with trading going in both directions.

We also change our clocks twice a year. The way I like to remember which direction we should do this in is “spring forward, fall backwards”  as American refer to Autumn as fall. When we spring forward this is commonly known as “Day light saving time”. It was originally put in place in the United States during World War I and World War II in order to take advantage of longer hours of daylight and save energy for the war production. (Wonderopolis, no date)

When thinking about Ma’s idea of having a PUFM the concept she named “Basic Ideas” comes to mind. A teacher who understands the Basic Ideas acknowledges the straightforward but impressive topics and principles of mathematics. The idea of time, in my opinion, is very basic. It’s something we are taught from a young age and is something that surrounds us and influences what we do on a day to day basis.

With regards to my professional development I want to ensure that time is something that is taught throughout a child’s time at school and show the importance of it historically and how it influences them now. 

References:

• Ma, L (1999) Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers’ Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States. 2^nd New York: Taylor & Francis.
• Wonderopolis (no date), Why do we change the clocks twice a year?, Available at http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-we-change-the-clocks-twice-a-year (Accessed 14/11/16).