I am, on a
significant level, anti-math. This needs some explaining. I am an Excel wizard.
I have spent the last couple of years in my free time in computer programming,
which requires a certain proficiency with math. So I have to say that math in
and of itself is not bad, per se (nod and a wink to South Park’s “Ungroundable” episode). My position regarding math
has nothing to do with the inherent discipline itself, but rather people’s
obsession with it.
In high
school I was required to take two years of algebra and a year of geometry. In
college I was required to pass a semester of college-level algebra. Okay, no
sweat. I did it. I didn’t enjoy it, but I did it. I get that there are subjects
I have to take that make me well-rounded and give me a strong foundation of
skills that I will likely use in life. That is, after all, what a general
education is supposed to do.
However,
it’s all been largely useless. The procedural math that algebra and geometry
classes teach frequently is useless. There is little in the way of
applicability to logarithms, cosines, factoring, and quadratic equations to
everyday life. I have forgotten nearly all of the math education I had. Like
any skill, it stays in memory the more it’s used. I don’t have a need for math
in a daily life.
Math
education, too, has shifted into something that is unnecessary, and will likely
be among these forgotten skills and equations. The education focuses more on
the steps needed to solve a given equation. The procedure trumps all. I have
taught in classrooms in the math department, and I see the classes end where a
computer program emulates a calculator because instructors demonstrate how to
solve the problem on the calculator.
What good is this? Rote
memorization does not make for problem solving skills. Being able to look at a
problem and deduce a method to solve
it is problem solving. Parroting the steps and drilling it into a group of
students only insures that they will be able to follow those steps, but not apply
critical thinking skills to problem solving. They haven’t learned any critical
skills. They learned how to follow steps.
If math is to be truly relevant, it
needs to be walked back into a method of solving problems, of exploration and
deducing relationships between not only numbers but reality. The great
mathematicians created the equations to solve specific problems they
encountered, and the only way to solve those problems was by math.
What good is it to tell someone the
Pythagorean Theorem or pi? Why isn’t it better to help students understand the
relationships? Let them measure the circumference and diameters of circles and
discover the constant relationship between them that is pi. Let them question
and understand how the sides of the triangle relate.
Only when this is done will the
math scores increase, and math will truly be relevant in modern education. We
need more problem solvers and thinkers. Fewer parrots.