Mathematics might give you a fright. It is a phobia known as Arithmophobia or mathophobia. Is it because of a teacher who lacks the skill to teach this subject?
Most of the time, it is because of a teacher who does not know how to teach this magical subject thus leading to a phobia.
Cancel out the word ‘phobia’, the H.C.F (Highest Common Factor ) which leads to the mathophobia is; that from the very beginning we have been taug by our parents that maths is a difficult subject.
It is not easy to memorize formulas, it is difficult to solve problems. The word math itself stresses our brains.
A child studying in grade one feels annoyed on hearing the name of the subject maths, even without realizing what the subject is.
At the primary stage, a child is supposed to add and subtract, and while doing that he feels irritated and does not want to do it.
At this stage, dislike towards subjects must be removed by parents as well as by teachers so that they don’t find problems further.
The learner should be taught from the beginning how this subject can be used in the real world by giving real-world problems which will make the subject interesting.
At the time of matriculation so-called ‘turning point of life,’ parents can be seen outside examination centres especially when it is mathematics paper.
They show worry and question marks on their faces; tense, they discuss syllabus, instructing their wards to check paper multiple times, check signs, and memorize formulas.
And this makes them feel anxious. The question, how to study mathematics, or how to understand this subject is still unanswered for students as well as teachers.
We can do magic out of numbers, figures, and formulas, all we need is to understand what this subject means. Its uses are vast, it does not apply only to mathematicians, and to engineering but to all professions.
Paul Dirac says, “God used beautiful mathematics in creating the universe.”
It is believed that God has wonderfully used numbers, geometry, and alignments in creating the universe.
The shape of the planet Earth, the number of rings on planet Saturn, the percentage of element water on earth, and the distance between the sun and earth show the use of maths in the universe.
Math reveals the sovereignty, infinity, and perfect wisdom of God. We can use maths to solve problems, build things, overcome obstacles, and plan our finances in a way that glorifies God.
Maths helps us to face daily challenges and gain solutions. We use it to balance our books, pay bills, follow recipes, conduct business, and make home repairs and improvements.
It’s useful for everyone
Waste for no one
Shows magic everywhere
In the present era, we have a vast variety of subjects, each one different from the other and each having brilliant scope. Mathematics is a subject that shows its beautiful presence in every subject in the form of numbers, graphs, equations, etc. Thus it is present everywhere. It is now hard to find a field of study that does not use mathematical tools.
The operations teach a beautiful lesson. The operation of addition is not only about adding numbers, it’s also about adding joy and making mega happiness out of that, adding or combining virtues.
Subtraction teaches us how to cancel out sadness, and negativity from our life. It plays a vital role.
Multiplication shows how many times little precious things can be merged. An example of multiplication is found in Matthew 18:21–22 when Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive a person.
Jesus answered, “Seventy times seven.” Jesus’ point wasn’t for us to forgive an offender exactly 490 times, but as many times as needed.
The division is a wonderful operation. It teaches how to divide happiness with others. It’s fascinating to see how kids use this operation while buying candies when they know how much money they have and what is the price of a candy.
For making the subject interesting there must be the introduction of new teaching methods such as making the topic understood by models, charts and showing practically where a formula is used in real life like the Pythagorean Theorem, and how is it used by carpenters to verify that they have right angels in their work and also the proof of each formula should be taught.
The operations and formulas we use in solving mathematical problems must be applied in real life to solve many complicated problems. The heavy books of maths contain a lot of problems so does life. Both need specific operations and formulas to solve problems.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.