Revealing the mysteries of mathematics
This article is a continuation of my editorial Why do students find mathematics difficult? As brought out in the first editorial, there is no one reason why students find mathematics difficult, BUT there are many external reasons why mathematics is MADE difficult. Since I wrote that editorial, I have learned a few things that I would... Continue Reading →
If you would have asked me the above question before I did some research on the answer to this question, I would have given you a response something like this: "Mathematics is the science and study of quality, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction... Continue Reading →
The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice. “Who are you?” said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, sir,... Continue Reading →
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin Scenario seen in real, TV and movie classrooms: Students take test, teacher grades test, hands test back to students with grade and wrong answers marked in red, and teacher moves on to the next topic. This happened... Continue Reading →
We gotta get out of this placeIf it's the last thing we ever doWe gotta get out of this place'Cause girl, there's a better life for me and you The Animals If you do a web search on "serious teacher shortage", you will find many results (my search returned 254,000,000 results) about teachers considering leaving... Continue Reading →
Opinions Here are a few answers1 to the question. (I have highlighted aspects of the answer that I believe are what make mathematics difficult.) First, teachers. A lot of elementary school teachers hate math and almost none of them ever do any math. That is, they don’t try to prove theorems or solve puzzles or... Continue Reading →
No study of mathematics can be consideredcomplete without attention to its history. Junaid Mubeen - Mathematics. Education. Innovation. In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted are confronted by Mr. Ryan, their history teacher, about their not being able to graduate because they are failing his class. Mr. Ryan: Listen guys, don't forget, tomorrow.... Continue Reading →
Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Pi Day is an annual opportunity for math enthusiasts to recite the infinite... Continue Reading →
We have all been there … sitting in a mathematics class wondering “will this knowledge ever actually be useful?” As a teacher, I have been asked the question more times than I can remember.Russell Lim - High School Mathematics Teacher, Melbourne, Australia The title of this editorial is taken from Mr. Lim's submission to Medium. I... Continue Reading →
In the movie Animal House, when Lawrence "Pinto" Kroger and Kent "Flounder" Dorfman walk past the statue of Emil Faber, founder of Faber College, we see that his motto is "KNOWLEDGE IS GOOD". Breadth and Depth of Knowledge Knowledge is good, but what about understanding and wisdom? (The editorial, Purpose of this Website, elucidates the... Continue Reading →
Mathematical Mysteries 