The point of math isn't to shove equations into someone's head, it's to teach how they were derived and why they work so that the cramming isn't necessary.
Yeah. I think everyone remembers a math teacher in front of a black board filled with endless equations going: “… and as we easily see, the result is … five!” And the whole class has no clue if, when and how there is a result created.
Yup! But how do you teach that to bored kids? I “got it” so I could do that stuff easily (and always faster than the other students with calculators) but I wouldn’t have a clue how to teach it.
On the other hand, I even perform simple addition and subtraction “incorrectly” (but I get the right answers).
Honestly, I believe that if algebra isn’t taught relatively early on, it becomes much harder to understand if you need to learn it later. Watching a middle-aged community college student try to struggle through MATH-073 is one of the saddest things in life.
My math skills on the IOWA tests were lower than the rest of my scores but still in the mid to high 80’s. Nevertheless, I found algebra and the like extremely difficult and frustrating. I remember crying when I went to look up the answers in the back of the book and realizing it still didn’t make any f#cking sense to me.
I loved my CC physics teacher who had an equation written down that was three blackboards tall. He started the class by saying, “You don’t have to know how to solve this, I just want you to know what was involved in the process you’ll be studying today.”
I feel the need to comment on this one. Every math class I’ve been in has been taught completely incorrectly. We memorize particular equations to solve a particular type of problem- use x to solve y, and use b to solve y when this variable is missing. Math should be about teaching people how to set up the equations to solve any problem, and more importantly, what an equation actually does for you. I have learned more useful math (like what matrix multiplication actually is good for, besides matrix multiplication…) on my own than in school.
Also, I had the correct-answer driven grading system teachers take. The point of memorizing equations and all that is to prove you know how to set up and solve an equation. Trying to run through an one-hundred step calculus equation flawlessly is nigh-on impossible. And if you read your 4 as a 9, you get the whole blamed thing wrong.
That said all subjects are taught really wrong on school. Languages are the worse in my personal experience as frankly aside from the very first years on school I don’t ever use anything taught there(and even then very little).
The rest have a problem that instead of teaching to the student to understand the subject they want him to answer questions. In Math that’s done by having him know a bunch of formulas and simple replace instead of actually setting up the equation by himself using the concepts.
In History it is done by simple saying what happened instead of explaining the why it happened, the consequences, what were the goals of the people who made such decisions, etc. Geography is half similar to History and the rest is decorating a bunch of maps and names.
At some point, you shouldn’t be required to do math to a certain level if you’re not planning on going into a primarily mathematical career. There’s no way in hell I’m going to need a single thing I learned in Algebra 2 after the class is over.
Like most subjects, algebra should be required in an introductory fashion, and if the student doesn’t have the knack, or isn’t interested, then they can take something different like “how to buy a home.”
I actually need math for my dream job. A paleontologist. But hey, most kids are lazy unambitious kids and get jobs like office guy or basketball player.
The point of math isn't to shove equations into someone's head, it's to teach how they were derived and why they work so that the cramming isn't necessary.
Yeah, but try telling that to the majority of math teachers in the world.
Yeah. I think everyone remembers a math teacher in front of a black board filled with endless equations going: “… and as we easily see, the result is … five!” And the whole class has no clue if, when and how there is a result created.
As someone currently taking a Calculus class, yeah pretty much.
Yup! But how do you teach that to bored kids? I “got it” so I could do that stuff easily (and always faster than the other students with calculators) but I wouldn’t have a clue how to teach it.
On the other hand, I even perform simple addition and subtraction “incorrectly” (but I get the right answers).
Honestly, I believe that if algebra isn’t taught relatively early on, it becomes much harder to understand if you need to learn it later. Watching a middle-aged community college student try to struggle through MATH-073 is one of the saddest things in life.
The point of math is to torture the less skilled.
My math skills on the IOWA tests were lower than the rest of my scores but still in the mid to high 80’s. Nevertheless, I found algebra and the like extremely difficult and frustrating. I remember crying when I went to look up the answers in the back of the book and realizing it still didn’t make any f#cking sense to me.
I loved my CC physics teacher who had an equation written down that was three blackboards tall. He started the class by saying, “You don’t have to know how to solve this, I just want you to know what was involved in the process you’ll be studying today.”
I feel the need to comment on this one. Every math class I’ve been in has been taught completely incorrectly. We memorize particular equations to solve a particular type of problem- use x to solve y, and use b to solve y when this variable is missing. Math should be about teaching people how to set up the equations to solve any problem, and more importantly, what an equation actually does for you. I have learned more useful math (like what matrix multiplication actually is good for, besides matrix multiplication…) on my own than in school.
Also, I had the correct-answer driven grading system teachers take. The point of memorizing equations and all that is to prove you know how to set up and solve an equation. Trying to run through an one-hundred step calculus equation flawlessly is nigh-on impossible. And if you read your 4 as a 9, you get the whole blamed thing wrong.
I love this comic. keep it up.
had = hate in that second paragraph.
I loved the comic.
That said all subjects are taught really wrong on school. Languages are the worse in my personal experience as frankly aside from the very first years on school I don’t ever use anything taught there(and even then very little).
The rest have a problem that instead of teaching to the student to understand the subject they want him to answer questions. In Math that’s done by having him know a bunch of formulas and simple replace instead of actually setting up the equation by himself using the concepts.
In History it is done by simple saying what happened instead of explaining the why it happened, the consequences, what were the goals of the people who made such decisions, etc. Geography is half similar to History and the rest is decorating a bunch of maps and names.
At some point, you shouldn’t be required to do math to a certain level if you’re not planning on going into a primarily mathematical career. There’s no way in hell I’m going to need a single thing I learned in Algebra 2 after the class is over.
Like most subjects, algebra should be required in an introductory fashion, and if the student doesn’t have the knack, or isn’t interested, then they can take something different like “how to buy a home.”
Architects don’t even use much math anymore, it’s all done with computers.
I actually need math for my dream job. A paleontologist. But hey, most kids are lazy unambitious kids and get jobs like office guy or basketball player.