What is Mathematics Anyway?

According to Wikipedia, "Math is the abstract study of topics such as quantity (numbers), structure, space and change." I always felt that math was just a subject I needed to pass in order to graduate and get into university; I honestly thought that math was where you're given problems to solve all day, every day and there is only one answer to the problem, with no leniency. I felt that to do mathematics, was to be given math problems by a teacher then having to solve them. To think mathematically, I felt was to think in an analytical way and always be looking for the one correct answer, unable to see that there could be many possible answers, with the right support, feeling that math wasn't very subjective. 

I asked my dad what he thought math was, what it means to do mathematics, and what it means to think mathematically, because my dad is a very mathematical person, he uses math in his everyday life and uses math and physics very heavily in his career. He told me that he thinks math "can be very basic and complex, people compute after they've been given input, to arrive at a solution to their simple or complex problem. Math can very much be used as a tool." My dad told me that he feels "math makes life easier, in everyday life and in peoples careers/jobs, and it is something that spans over many disciplines." He explained this by comparing math to art, "art effects many people in many ways, and can be created using many techniques. Math too effects many people in many ways and can be created in many ways for many purposes. Math spans over many different disciplines, covering a large spectrum all considered math." To think mathematically my dad said means to think more analytical (so many inputs leaving you to look for results), and less philosophical. 

After talking to my dad and doing a bit of research and participating in the discussion in math class today, I feel that math isn't as easy to define like I had perviously thought. I was very unaware of the things I didn't know about math and how it's not just seen as a subject in school, because we use it everyday, not even realizing (like telling the time). I've learned that math is so much more than just coming up with the correct answer to a problem and that math does allow for creativity. Math is about figuring out how to solve the problem and learning from your mistakes. Like my dad said, math is on a spectrum; it's not just algorithms but math is music, math is art and language and science and humanities, and it's a subject that I think should be taught differently in school, allowing children to have a better understanding of what math is.

TED Talk

After watching Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 TED Talk I agree with a lot of his ideas about the public education system. Going through the public school system myself, I completely agree that subjects like mathematics and language arts are given much more importance than that of the arts. Something that Robinson said that really stuck with me was when he said many highly talented and creative people in the world, feel that they're not. This is because the subject area they may have excelled in, was looked at as not being important and possibly stigmatized. To me, this is troubling because the creativity and intelligence of children are being stifled if what they are interested in and passionate about, is seen by society, as something that is unimportant compared to the "better" learning areas such as math, science and language arts, which will allow you to "get somewhere in your life." 

I truly loved the story he told about Jillian the famous dance choreographer and how in order to learn she needed to move. In today's society, many children are diagnosed with ADHD, which is probably what Jillian would have been diagnosed with if that exceptionality was common. Today children with exceptionalities such as ADD and ADHD and often given medication to calm them down and not always given the opportunities Jillian was given to understand that they learn differently. I feel that showing this video to our math class served a purpose to help us understand, as future teachers, that all children learn differently and there is not just one specific way to teach. Math and science and language arts are not the only important subjects that children should learn about, they should be exposed more to the arts and humanities, and these subjects shouldn't be looked down upon, but encouraged to allow students to achieve their full learning potentials. 

Math Autobiography

Throughout my time in primary and elementary school, math was never a subject I enjoyed. During Kindergarten through grade 6, math was never fun or an enjoyable experience, all I remember doing is work, and that is all I have ever related math with; having no fun and just sitting down and doing exercises upon exercises. The only time I remember having fun in math, was when we got to colour or play games when our work was finished early. I started strongly disliking math when I was in grade one. We were learning how to count by 2's, 3's and 5's, and I was struggling with it. My teacher use to write the number patterns on the board, leaving blanks, then she would randomly call out the names of students to answer which number should go in the following blank. I absolutely hated talking when everyone was listening, and when she would call on me for the answer, I would have twice the amount of trouble trying to figure it out because I was so nervous to talk in front of the class which made me forget, even if I knew the answer. I have had many experiences like that through grades 1 to 6, and those experiences have stayed with me giving me negative views on math, as an adult. 

There were things that I was really good at in math, and caught on right away when it was taught to me. There are also things that I still cannot do because it simply doesn't click and I just don't understand. When someone asks me if I was good at math, I always reply with "50/50" meaning there is a 50% chance I will understand it really well, or there is a 50% chance I won't understand it at all. I did better in math in some grades, and did worse in others.

For the most part, the role of the teacher was always the same; they would get up and write down the notes on the board, which we would take down in our exercise books. To me, it felt like none of my teachers really liked math, but they always said how important it was for us to learn it, which made me dislike it even more because I could never see the purpose of it. Assessment was always the same in elementary, we would be tested after we finished a chapter and we were given lots of little assignments to complete during and after class, while we were completing the chapters. Grade three is when we started doing written tests at the end of each chapter. As for primary grades, I'm not quite sure what kind of assessment was used. 

Math in grade 7 was the worst experience of my life, particularly because of the teacher. I was fully aware that she disliked me and she only liked students who understood what she was teaching, she hated when I asked her questions and she gave me my first failing grades ever. The rest of my math experiences in high school were much better. I found that I was understanding more and I started to enjoy what I understood. My math teachers in high school, were much more helpful than any of my primary and elementary teachers, which helped me a lot. 

In university, I was unsure about what career path I wanted to take so did a first year of general studies. During that year I completed math 1090 and math 1000. The professor I had for both of those courses was the best math teacher I had ever had in my life; the way he taught met all my learning needs and all the extra help he gave astounded me and helped me so much. It was easy to see that he loved math and was willing to do whatever it took to help you reach your full potential and achieve. He has been my favourite professor I have had in my entire university experience. Other than those two math courses, I have not taken a course since.

Personally, I have never used any quadratic equations or unit circles in my life, the only math I use is when I have to, for example when I'm grocery shopping or clothes shopping, even then I have trouble with percents and I'm thankful I have a calculator on my phone. I try to stay away from things involving math, such as card games because what may seem like simple addition for most people, I have to take my time with, and it can be embarrassing when I can't quickly add a score up. Right now in my life, math is something that I dread, but that is something that I'm going to have to learn to deal with, because I am going to have to teach it, and I do not want to be like the teachers I experienced in my primary and elementary grades. I want to be able to teach math in a way that it will be something thats students don't dread, like I did. I want it to be as fun and exciting like the rest of the subjects being taught to them and not something that is intimidating.

Hi! My name is Meighan and this is my blog for Education 3940: Mathematics in Primary and Elementary Grades!