"Maths Again!!!" Why is it like this?

            “Math again!!” is what you hear in school whenever a math lesson starts. I just do not understand why it is so hated in school. But maybe I am wrong.  Maybe I am mixing two feelings here, hatred and fear. Is it possible that students are afraid of math? It is quite possible this way. Sometimes it so happens that fear and hatred join hands to cast their effect. And that effect is that students would never wish to study math. Why is it so? Why do students “hate and fear” math? Why do they find it boring? Is it because of math itself or the way it is taught at school? In this article I will explore this topic in detail since I experience the above mentioned situations taking place at my own school.

             Alright, so first let us take the fear aspect.

Why do students fear math? I think the reason lies in the fact that they do not quite get the material completely and their concepts are very fragile. When it comes to questions, the problems arise quickly. Students are not able to apply their fragile concepts to solve the questions, which is quite understandable. So the root cause lies in math not taught in the right way. I myself adore and love math but the way it has been taught to me and others is depressing. Students are straightaway given formulae and are shown examples solved on the board. Then they are expected to do questions themselves by just plugging numbers into the formulae. Is this not spoon-feeding? Why don’t the teachers explain the different variables in the formulae or the reason the particular formula is used in the questions? Those children who get the concepts due to their intellect or further self-exploration excel in the tests and exams and the rest just sit there looking at each other with big question marks on their faces.

            Then there comes the hatred aspect. It is quite understandable that when you don’t get something right, you start hating it. It seems that you are wasting your time doing nothing, literally nothing. Since you can’t even solve the questions right, why sit in the class? But sometimes this leads to serious loss of confidence. Students feel they are not smart enough to be in the class and to compete with the other masterminds sitting with them. Every student is a unique world and not everyone can get the concepts the same way. You cannot expect two students, one who is good in sciences and one is good in arts to understand math concepts at the same rate and in the same way. When you try something many times and still you cannot do it, then you hate it. The same happens in schools. The students hate math because they don’t get it.

             But the hallmark of the problems and the driving force for all the war against math is that it is boring. And it is evident that math the way it is taught in school is boring. Teachers show you solved examples and give you formulae and then give you a bunch of questions to practice. Well everyone has heard the saying “Practice makes Perfect” but it is forcefully applied to math. Will doing the same type of questions with same words but different numerical values make you a math genius? No way will it ever do that. It will surely carve the formulae and the structure of questions in your head as a nail does on wood or ceramic and prepare you for exams. But it will sip away all the wonder and beauty of math from your mind. The ‘art’ of problem solving will be lost forever in the wilderness. Yes, it is an art to solve problems and by that I mean it is creative. Many will think that math is anything but creative but I say it is just like art. The reason you don’t understand it is because the ‘wonderful’ sessions of ‘practice’ have done their job in carving your head and, pardon my harsh language, have brain washed you into believing that math is all about mechanical practice which in reality it is not. 

             Yes, the word ‘mechanical’ is used because this practice is tedious and mechanical just like a robotic task. This drill of solving questions is destroying math. And the result is the list of problems including the above mentioned problems of hatred and fear as well. This process of teaching was developed for training people to become good workers for the industries. Yup, again I am talking against the norms. But however bitter the reality be, one has to admit it. Today robots and computers are there for the boring, tedious and mind grinding tasks so why continue to train the 21^st century student that way. Why not teach them the art of problem solving? Such questions should be given that have novel situations requiring the use of basic concepts. This will stimulate interest in students. But this is what we don’t understand because it is a hell of a task to prepare such material and teach the students in such way.

             In the end I shall say that serious steps need to be taken to prevent what is happening and what will happen in future. Maybe whatever I described above has already been solved in advanced countries but this is not the case in Pakistan and other developing and underdeveloped countries. But I will not leave the topic as it is. In my next post I shall try to bring in my suggestion s and ideas on how to improve the situation. Till then I shall say bye. J