Just gave a seminar to some parents and teachers about maths – how to make it relevant and exciting so kids will love it. As I was talking I realised how much I love this subject and always have.
Maths provides the order and harmony we so badly need and really it is at the heart of all our lives. There is literally NOTHING that lacks a mathematical component! Even the computer keys I type as I write this are placed in perfect symmetry on my laptop-the p is always on the top right and the q on the left! There are a certain number of characters that fit on this line and not one more!
It is such a shame that many children grow up hating maths and not seeing the wonderful mathematical patterns in nature, the mathematical rhythms we live our lives by and the patterns and order of our days. We crave this order and at times (eg. holidays)-we crave DIS order!. And yet-we so often as teachers teach just the bare bones-the sums, the tables, the mental arithmetic. Of course these are really important- BUT we have to stimulate children’s curiosity and wonder about maths-it is everywhere and everything about us-right down to the timing of our blood flow around our circulatory systems, heart beats and breathing patterns is part of this wonderful system.
Let’s give children a glimpse into the void-the grandeur and the beauty of this discipline. We owe it to them!
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