tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758772.post114020670407019997..comments2023-06-22T01:59:34.530-07:00Comments on The Iguanodon: On Math EducationOuranosaurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17814093504211434259noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758772.post-1159574593844772132006-09-29T17:03:00.000-07:002006-09-29T17:03:00.000-07:00Unlike you I started my school life hating math, t...Unlike you I started my school life hating math, there was a time in grade four learning how to multiply two digit numbers that I just wanted to quit. Since then I have moved on from there and now enjoy math very much. Particularly high school math, where class was just a 'good time'. You're right, that joy comes from figuring out a problem especially one which has been troubling for a long period. <BR/><BR/>The problem I believe, as do you (if I understand your position correctly) lies in the way math is delivered. In high school and elementary, after you've mastered the basic reading skills, so it is no longer a chore, reading becomes fun. Naturally this is because the material is interesting and lets the mind explore alternate relates, and thoughts. However you never truly master the 'basic' skills of math as they keep piling more on. Once you get the numbers, then there's addition/subtraction. After that multiplication/division, fractions, ratios, rational numbers, quantities, variables. It's just one rule, theory, or idea after another no time to actually enjoy the process or 'story' of the math.<BR/><BR/>I'm not really sure where I'm trying to go with this so I'll just stop there. But one needs to truly consider this, in a world which uses math almost as much (if not more) then written language, surly there must be a way to lend excitement to an otherwise mechanical, boring subject.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758772.post-1140408200229977112006-02-19T20:03:00.000-08:002006-02-19T20:03:00.000-08:00Matthew,I found this entry a little surprising fro...Matthew,<BR/><BR/>I found this entry a little surprising from you. Not because of the subject matter but because I felt that your message was quite mixed at the end of the passage. <BR/><BR/>You state the your math teacher was excellent and I heartily agree. I had him for three consecutive years (Math 11, Math 12, and Calculus AP) and he was always engaging and a very good educator, capable of explaining complex math topics with some ease. I can say that he was also always available after schools for help, and I availed myself of these times a few times during my Calculus course.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, you state, quite rightly, that your loss of interest in Math was almost entirely your own fault. So far so good. But then you nonsensically blame your Math teacher for offering you bland platitudes in an attempt to rekindle your interest in math. So even without saying it, you are passing the buck to some one else. You claim to hold anarchistic principles dearly, but the chief principle of anarchism is, and must be, personal responsibility. By passing the buck on this issue you are not really acccepting personal responsability for your choices. I know that you say you are responsible, but that does not come across in you essay, instead you focus on how some one else didn't do you justice in your school career.<BR/><BR/>Well, from what you have said, andd from my own personal experience with this teacher, I can say that he did the beest thing that a teacher can ever do to create interest in the subject he taught: he came to work each day and loved his subject and projected that love into his classroom. Really, this is the most that any teacher can do and this specific math teacher did it in spades. <BR/><BR/>So anyway, I just think that it's slightly hypocritical to talk about how it's your fault that you didn't go further in maths (and it is your fault) an then turn it around into a criticism of the education systeem when your criticism goes against the very principle of the political thought that you are try to put across.<BR/><BR/>AndrewAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com