[NorthMountain]

As a sample of what it was like, we were told on the first day that we were now on a planet where the people had seven fingers. Counting from zero, our numbers were 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,10, and we eventually did all arithmetical processes in “base seven”, where large numbers had a ones column, a sevens column, a forty-nines column, a 343rds column, etc.

Hmmmmm ...

Base 7, eh? (and not taught particularly well ...) Not sure why you'd teach that to seventh graders. Or anyone else. Base two, base eight, and base sixteen, however, are very useful. I'd still suggest that mastery of base ten arithmetic prior to that is essential.

[Reynoldo]

“ … Base 7, eh? (and not taught particularly well ...) Not sure why you’d teach that to seventh graders. Or anyone else. Base two, base eight, and base sixteen, however, are very useful. I’d still suggest that mastery of base ten arithmetic prior to that is essential..”

In the early 60s, (around 4th or 5th grade),I spent a few months doing arithmetic all in base 6. After that, they dropped that and the rest of my arithmetic education was base 10.