[Game^]

Originally Posted by Tomkat

The main question I ould have in regard to this (and I only read the first 5 pages, so forgive me if it goes off at another tangent later that I haven't addressed) would be simply that if the state of mathematics education is so dire and terrible, then why do we still have a significant proportion of students taking it up beyond GCSE level?

If it's so boring and crappy and takes the enjoyment out of it, then why do you, I, and many others enjoy maths problems?

The main point he raises throughout the entire article (14,000 words lol), is that education systems aren't even teaching true maths. More so the rules that MUST be used and memorised, and applied over and over again to achieve this.

The reason (which this article doesn't seem to address) is that not everyone can enjoy maths. There will always be some subjects at school which we do not enjoy. I hated sports (PE) and MFL (yet, bizarrely, studied two languages...). Changing the teaching style of maths won't suddenly infuse learners with the desire to become mathematicians.

I agree that the writer of the article is clearly a person who has a great love for maths, and seems to believe everyone else can also. The main point though I think to take from the article is that educators generally dont give students the chance to enjoy maths. The writer also raises valid points about how the 'rules' of maths are just TOLD to students, with no mention of history of maths.

The article as gears more towards educating 'blue sky' thinkers, solving problems for themselves, with guidance to point them in the general direction.

Oh, and by the way I believe that Maths does involve more "fun" type puzzles now than when we were at school. I was talking to another teacher (maths) a week or so ago and he was giving the pupils basic numeracy puzzles to solve, to try and crack the code for a briefcase he'd brought in. The successful pupil(s) would win the prize inside.

Out of interest, ask him if he knows the history of Pythagoras' theorem.