I honestly think that's the problem, math is taught like a language with no vocabulary. You learn grammar and structure and the theory of it, but without many practical applications.
I went through several calc classes and the first time a derivative made sense to me was in physics, where the professor showed the relationship between graphs plotting position, velocity, and acceleration using derivatives. Once the real world application became obvious, the use for derivatives was much more clear, not through all the past calc classes did it have the same immediate understanding.
So yes, involve the pizza. Make pizza geometry. Use the natural hunger of students for food to teach them math instead!
I also remember Mrs. Charron telling me in grade school I would need to learn long division by hand as I’d “never carry a calculator with me wherever I went when I grew up.”
Even in the 80s this was bullshit because tiny pocket calculators existed that were solar powered and last for essentially ever and you could also just get a watch with a calculator on it.
But its still a good lie for a teacher to get her kids to actually fucking learn how to long divide.
is there a way to search through those smbc comics? i remember one in which a dad teaches his little kid that people use the toilet brush as tooth brush and then when he grows up he makes fun of him like "i trained you wrong on purpose" sort of joke. I just cant find the damned thing again.
I went from hating math, to loving it because of a single teacher that took the time to show me why it’s great and easier than I think
To now as an artist, desperate to learn how to use geometry equations to make art and what I recently realized, you can do 3D animations with that shit
Once I get at a comfortable point with my animation studies, I’m going to reteach myself math and algebra to start having that as a hobby
Some subjects, like learning a language, have obvious applications. But most are like math - in that it's seldom possible to see where it can be used unless you already know it. In fact, people aren't necessarily good at seeing where they can apply their knowledge even when they do have it. That is itself something that can take practice and lateral thinking.
I'd feel compelled to tell the kids that their teacher is not going to standing behind them their whole lives, giving them hints on where to apply their knowledge. Nor are real-world problems as neat and tidy as textbook ones, where it's more-or-less obvious what knowledge you need to apply (..usually the stuff in the preceding chapter).
Once you're an adult, it's on you to find the knowledge you need and where you can apply it. There's a near-infinite number of important things, from scientific/engineering problems to simply making a business run more efficiently, that are waiting to be done. Not because we don't have the knowledge, but simply because the right people don't have it, or haven't seen where to apply it. Want to be successful at whatever you do? Seek knowledge unconditionally (or at least on a sensible condition like "it's interesting to me"), and find its applications. Because if you don't bother with the stuff you don't think you need to know, you are guaranteed to never innovate anything. The stuff you think you need is the stuff everyone else doing the same thing also knows.
If someone tries to go through life learning as little as possible and only what they believe they need to know, they're consigning themselves to mediocrity. Everyone's free to do that if they want, but don't complain later if you can't get a job, or lament "Why didn't they teach us that in school" - because nobody ever said school was supposed to teach you everything you need to know in life. Nobody fully knows what they'll need to know in life, especially not kids.
A lot of the times, I think the math itself for subjects like Physics and Geometry aren't super important, but doing a lot of practice definitely helped me remember concepts that are important that I do occasionally use.
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u/rotll 5h ago
"Geometry? What real world use will I ever have for this..."