math·e·mat·ics

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, mathematics is defined as "the science of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, and abstractions and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations, and generalizations." So it's basically anything and everything to do with numbers, right? But is that all mathematics really is?

When I asked my dad (who, by the way, is a high school math teacher) about what mathematics is, he quite simply told me that it is problem solving. When you do math, you solve problems. And when you think mathematically, it means you think logically; you plan and execute steps that will take you from point A to point B in a logical manner. 

Being my father's daughter, I would have to agree with him. Math isn't just about numbers, it's about problems and solutions. It's more of a way of life than a science or a school subject. Math is more than a text book of equations. 

In 2011, Get Real Math blogged about what it means to 'do mathematics.' They had some really great points which included a quote from Paul Lockhart, author of A Mathematician's Lament which states: 

“mathematics is about problems, and problems must be made the focus of a student’s mathematical life. Painfully and creatively frustrating as it may be, students and their teachers should at all times be engaged in the process of doing mathematics — having ideas, not having ideas, discovering patterns, making conjectures, constructing examples and counterexamples, devising arguments, and critiquing each other’s work.”

In a more recent blog post (published in 2013), mathematician and programmer, Jeremy Kun, talked about the myth that math is solving for x. Here, he explains that "the primary skill [in regards to algebra] is in reasoning about complex problems in a principled way." Education.com also talks about what it means to do mathematics, showing how mathematics utilizes science verbs that indicate the process of "making sense" and "figuring out." 

So it seems to me that my dad is onto something... Mathematics is more than its textbook definition. Math is more than numbers. Math is problem solving. Math is life. Don't you agree? 

Go down deep enough into anything and you will find mathematics.

- Dean Schlicter

What is education really about, anyway?

Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk about How schools kill creativity:

If that is not something that gets you thinking about education, then I don't know what is.

Robinson discusses some issues in regards to our "current" education system (as of 2006 that is). The overall message is that we need to educate children's whole being rather than just their mind; we need to encourage, promote and support creativity and open our views to what intelligence really is rather than being compliant to the education system at hand. 

One idea that stands out to me is the importance of being wrong. If children are scolded too often for being wrong they will become (or maybe have already become) too scared to take risks, make mistakes and think creatively. I mean, have you talked to a child lately? Do you know how crazily imaginative those little buggers can be? One of the best things about children are their imaginations and, as a future teacher, I believe it is important to nourish and respect this creativity rather than educate them out of it. 

Robinson makes a point about how the purpose of education is to prepare students for jobs and, furthermore, to create university professors. Although I cannot completely disagree with this point, as it's no fluke that I have a French degree in a bilingual country and plan to continue my education even after I get a masters degree, I can still see where he is coming from and how this type of education system does not meet the needs of every student. In saying that, as much as I would like to tell students to follow their hearts and do what they enjoy, I don't want them living in their parents basement and working at McDonald's when they're 40 years old. There's gotta be a middle ground where education can nurture creativity while creating useful and productive members of society.  

Videos like this are great for getting me on the go. Although I often show indifference towards, well, most everything, education is an issue that I am passionate about. Watching this video in a class about teaching children mathematics just re-enforces the idea that education is not about the subjects you teach, but rather the ideas and concepts you re-enforce through teaching itself. Education is more about teaching children how to learn than it is teaching them how to count. If you don't teach children to think critically and solve problems then how do you expect them to become independent learners?

PS: Shakespeare had a dad? Tell me you never thought about that before, because I know I haven't. I suppose he had a mum too...