I hope that I am not straying off topic, but certainly where I was schooled (Ireland), the main issue in the poor math performance falls on the "uncool" reputat

I hope that I am not straying off topic, but certainly where I was schooled (Ireland), the main issue in the poor math performance falls on the "uncool" reputation which Maths has received in the past few years. If you make it so that a child likes maths and feel's no peer pressure to just give up, the way in which one multiplies may become less significant.