Math is Challenging, Yet it’s Beautiful

Considering a vast experience in teaching mathematics at the secondary level, pedagogy of math teaching is very demanding in the educational system. A teacher has to be high spirited in motivating the Math haters in class. Most learners complain about how challenging it is when they see numbers and how their beautiful day becomes unhappy when Math time comes. They complain so much. They often say that they don’t need this subject in real life!

They are absolutely wrong.

Having the teacher observed these from the negative attitudes of students towards the subject, turn this negative attitude to positive behaviour. Knowing these, challenging the students in the first weeks of the term can be hard yet it is beautiful. Emphasizing that the world needs creative thinkers through studying the fundamentals of Mathematics and use these in real life. Without the students knowing that Mathematics is working for their lives, would come to realize that Mathematics is a core subject, has never in the history of the school to omit from all educational systems anywhere in the world, so becomes the most essential part of the discipline areas that everyone has to embrace it. Later, students come to know that the world would be brainless and empty without the Mathematicians, who are the creative thinkers, the analyst, the problem solvers, the researchers and the physicist who are producing endless things human need for existence.

As a teacher, he needs not to only deliver the Math curriculum that he developed the creative way of learning the Mathematics subject inside the box, but bring the students outside the four walls of the classroom and let them discover the beauty of applied Mathematics all around.

Start by the motivation by exampling ….

The door of the classroom they pass out is an output that there is a standard area in square feet or square meters. The steps up and down the stairways is a product of symmetrical shapes, numbered steps that go by the other to make those steps have a stronghold. The beautifully tiled floors in the school building, auditorium, laboratories, playgrounds and everywhere that they walk every day is a manifestation that ratio and proportion of lengths and widths and space areas are enormously applied. The curved pathways as they sway and as they walk are outputs of concrete calculations of mixtures of the elements of lasting infrastructure. The high rise buildings like the hospitals, malls, courts,  government complex buildings and all among others standing tall are giving the exact products of Mathematical geometric shapes, exact proportions, accurate calculations and strong foundations to make these concretes stay on the ground up for a very long time.

“One Math class I had the first day, 100 percent said how they dislike Mathematics. All of them shouted,  we will become chef, we don’t need numbers!”…. I replied back, can you imagine this world of only chefs? One student shouted, cried: no architects? no builders? no engineers? no electricians? Oh God, the world will be flat! it is not beautiful….!”

Next day of Mathematics class, all were quiet. All were grabbing their textbooks, workbooks and lesson notebook. One asked, “teacher, do we use the Math Lab Notebook too today?

Succeeding days, everyone was ready too with pencil on hand. They all understood me asking them to please use pencils in solving their Math problems, in their Math Lab notebooks.

Every day and everyone in that Grade 7 class turned out to be positive and lovers of learning Mathematics.

Mathematics is the most beautiful subject ever…. All of them cried….. hoooooooooooooo teacher Ramsel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Walking pass out from that class, saw one Grade 8 student called out my name,  “Teacher Ramsel, are we going to have Math and Science Quiz Show again?… I smiled and said… Get ready then…

-Ramsel Eclarin-