Today is world Mathematics Day. Permit me to ask you this Question.
1. How so you perceive Mathematics as an educator?
2. Do you honestly believe the current content we provide to our children have any relevance in their lives?
Mathematics is not a subject. It is not a Discipline studied in schools. Mathematics is life. It is the ways of life.
Mathematics is the same thing which makes Muslim go to the mosques or pray salat.
It is this same Mathematics which direct affairs at the church every Sunday.
We cannot leave a meaningful life without applying Mathematics in our daily lives. Mathematics is life.
Every teacher is a mathematics teacher and every learner is a mathematics learner.
The problem with Mathematics in our schools is the fact that most of the topics we force ourselves and our children to learn may not have direct bearing in our lives.
Mathematics is life itself. All the topics we teach may have some relationship with our daily lives. The problem is not Mathematics. The problem is how Mathematics is packaged and presented.
For instance, children are expected to learn how to use Calculators in class but are prevented from using Calculators in the examination hall especially JHS level.
But, we allow their counterparts at the SHS and tertiary institutions to use them in the exam Hall.
So in effect, we kill the spirit of Mathematics at the basic level before the children are exposed to the subject at the higher institutions of learning.
Sometimes, we must also blame the teachers who teach Mathematics. But, can we blame them. No.
No because, they have no influence in the designing of the content in the syllabus or curriculum.
Yes because, they should use their skills and expertise to make the subject relevant and meaningful.
They should break down all topics and concepts in the subject to make it easier for the learners to relate with.
Activity - oriented strategies should be adopted when teaching mathematics in our schools. These activities may include the playing of ludo, Oware, 'Ampe', Skipping, 'Tumatu', etc.
We should stop teaching children formulas and rules in the classroom. We should however, help children to discover for themselves the rules or formulas we want them to know.
Mathematics should not always be about rules and principles. The mathematics teacher should not always be strict or 'no - nonsense' teacher. Mathematics should not always be taught in the classrooms. Mathematics classrooms should not be turned into a lecture hall or sermons sessions.
We must turn our Mathematics Classrooms into an activity based classrooms. Our classrooms and schools should depict a mathematics-rich classrooms.
We must make Mathematics teaching interesting, enjoyable and the most liked subject in the school. We must encourage children to relate every mathematics topics to real life situations.
Mohammed Aminu M.
Consultant,
AminuWrites Foundation,
Call/WhatsApp: 233 - 244 - 299 - 706.
Email: aminuwrites@gmail.com
https://aminuwrites.blogspot.com
