You know when you're sitting in math class and you actually stop for a moment to think about what you're doing and why you're doing it? I had one of those moments today and I just looked at the worksheet in front of me and though to myself "why am I doing this?" I had just finished a problem that took a good fifteen minutes of following numerous intricate formulas, only to arrive at an answer that was utterly meaningless to me. I think I calculated the amount of time that it would take for a bacteria population to grow over time...but how does that affect me? That bacteria could be wiped out by the Black Plague and I wouldn't miss a beat because, simply put, it just doesn't affect me. But at the same rate, if I am so disconnected from this information then why did I just spend the past fifteen minutes of my life figuring out the problem? I'm not going to wine and say that math is useless, because I don't think that. I believe that doing problems like this promotes logical thinking and allows promotes fluency with complex ideas and concepts. But I will say that I begin to question certain subjects, especially the relevance that those subjects have to my life and life in general. Odds are that in my future profession, I will never have to calculate anything remotely like this problem. I guess I'm just really confused...
I think it's also interesting to note the strong dislike that many of the social studies teachers share for math. I think this is due to two very, very different outlooks on life. On the one hand, a math person would see the world in terms of numbers and equations. They would notice patterns and try to draw disscernable mathematical conclusions based on these observations...after all, isn't that what a math equation is? It's simply an observed pattern that never fails. On the other hand, you've got the outlook of someone who's not neccessarily a math person. I'm not really sure how someone who falls under this category would view things, but I can say with confidence that I will be one of these people.
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2 comments:
I agree with what you're saying. But to go a step further, what do you think of being tested on the material you spend hours on in and out of class, and memorizing the "numerous intricate formulas," when later in life, you could be doing the same problem and have all the time in the world, plus an internet full of equations? Don't you think that we, as high school students, should spend more time looking at the world and people around us to try to make ourselves better people? Just a thought...
Cheers
for me the dislike stems from my inability to do math with any kind of competencey. If I were better at it, I think I'd like it more :-) But the math are an easy target - don't get me wrong :-)
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