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Stuart Nathan
Features editor
Adding up a culture change
There’s a lot of maths around at the moment. On television, Marcus du Sautoy, distinguished professor of mathematics at Oxford University, Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a man who, fortunately, doesn’t take himself too seriously, is clambering around the Giant’s Causeway amid portentous music and dramatic post-production effects to explain how mathematics underpins nature. In the financial markets, analysts are turning to chaos theories of maths to describe the spiralling and seemingly senseless rise and fall of share prices.
And in the newspapers this week — since somewhat overshadowed — a woman best known for picking letters and numbers off a board and doing sums on an afternoon gameshow has advised the government that maths education needs to be compulsory to age 18. Maybe Carol Voderman was heading up the review of maths education because Prof du Sautoy was too busy looking at beehives and bubbles, but nonetheless her report’s recommendations deserve some study.
Engineering is, of course, entirely dependent on mathematics; many an undergraduate has stumbled from their first term shellshocked at the sheer volume of maths lectures they were expected to attend, and the exoticism of some of the mathematics which underpins technology. And it’s certainly true that innumeracy is peculiarly lacking in the stigma of illiteracy — many people declare almost proudly that they know nothing about maths.
Ms Vorderman (an engineering graduate herself) has suggested that maths GCSEs should be split into two courses, one dealing with arithmetic and the other with the more abstract algebra which so many people struggle with. There’s no point, she argues, in confusing people with quadratics and cosines when what they really need is to be able to work out fractions and percentages. And this is undoubtedly a good idea, although yet another set of exams at 16 might be daunting for students (and, for that matter, teachers).
Whether compulsory maths is a good idea for anyone studying until 18 is another matter. Would it help make an appreciation of maths part of the culture in a way that it currently isn’t, as Prof du Sautoy would clearly like to see? It’s hard to say. Speaking for myself, as an A-level student studying science and maths subjects, I was forced to sit through ‘Special English’ classes because it was thought that science students were somehow lacking in a desire or ability to read or write. I’m still somewhat bitter about that. Might arts students feel the same way about ‘Special Maths’? Or would they become converts to the beauty of numbers and and the elegance of formulae?
Have a look over the history of maths and one thing becomes clear. Hardcore mathematicians — the geniuses who have advanced the subject over the years — are often strange people. Maybe you have to have a brain that’s wired slightly differently from the average to truly appreciate the highest levels of maths, where imaginary numbers dance and the digits of Pi spin off into eternity. But there’s no doubt that there is a need for a shake-up, in both culture and education. Maybe this is the start of a countdown to a new way of doing things.
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Readers' comments (26)
Simon Carr | 10 Aug 2011 12:29 pm
Part of the report i saw focused on the lack of ability to perform basic functions in every day life, such as working out fractions and percentages. If they haven't got that right by 16, another 2 years aren't going to make much difference!!!
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Bryan Burton | 10 Aug 2011 12:38 pm
I think it's a shame that Stuart
Nathan felt bitter towards "special English" while studying engineering.
Surely an appreciation of the English language is desirable for one involved in the written media, in the same way that correct use of the language is essential.
As for "special maths" for arts students - what a good idea - and one that Archimedes and Picasso would have surely approved of.
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Editor's comments | 10 Aug 2011 12:38 pm
Seeing as I'd already passed two O-levels (showing my age there) in English Language and English Literature, I thought I'd demonstrated that I didn't need to do a Special English course! — SN
Anonymous | 10 Aug 2011 12:45 pm
A recent report in the East Anglian Daily Times suggests that 3 out of 10 adults in Great Yarmouth lack 'functional numeracy'. Are these people really not getting it, or have they been failed by their primary and secondary education?
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SID TEMPEST | 10 Aug 2011 12:46 pm
Most technical subjects, & above all mathematics, are more difficult to teach than many other subjects. It is my experience that because of this, teachers, mainly, shy away from them and opt for more 'fuzzy' subjects. This has generated a downward spiral in desire for application to the subject along with a loss of shining role models (Carol Vordeman excluded).
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Archie Campbell | 10 Aug 2011 12:58 pm
Maths and arithmetic are separate. Percentages and fractions can hardly be called maths and can be carried out by the most rudimentary of calculators. Trachenberg's book in the 50s talked about a method of helping students with mental arithmetic and there's a difference between those who learn tables and those who learn how to calculate. Most students now have little ability for mental arithmetic because calculators are too simple.
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Peter Twissell | 10 Aug 2011 1:25 pm
Did I miss something? I distinctly remember seperate classes for 'pure maths' and 'applied maths' (broadly maths and arithmetic) during my O and A level studies.
When did this stop and why is it now being hailed as a new idea?
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George Noon | 10 Aug 2011 1:44 pm
As a purchasing proffessional the companies that I have worked for sent me on various diploma courses 2 of which included statistics as part of the course. In the 30 years since I completed the first course the only time I used statistics was to work out my chances of winning the lottery, however one course included a module on economics this has been of more use. Whilst I agree that all students should be able to carry out basic maths I feel it should be as it was when I went to school you were educated in the basic principals of the subject and then depending on what you decided your carreer path was you then opted for more specialised areas. However if the teachers can not generate the enthusiasm and interest if you carried on until you were sixty you still would not be able to grasp the subject.
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Malcolm Brook | 10 Aug 2011 1:50 pm
Calculators may well do all the calculations we need but when a person has no appreciation of the math how do they know the answer is right.
Even in the late nineteen seventies industry found that engineering apprentices (16 or 17) had no appreciation of converting fractions to decimals and had to provide extra maths tuition.
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Julian T | 10 Aug 2011 1:55 pm
I am a Metallurgist/Welding Engineer with the appropriate qualifications in Metallurgy (B.Sc.) and Welding Engineering (M.Sc. plus the IWE and EWE) with a B.A. (mix of Mathematical Modelling and Computing couirses) and a B.Sc. and Diploma in Mathematics. I have also been a Neighbourhood Engineer and and Science and Engineering Ambassador for 21 years working in primary and secondary schools.
The Vorderman recommendations are an ideal I would subscribe to for UK plc BUT are totally impractical for a nukber of reasons - Not least we have insufficent maths teachers for current needs yet alone maths for everyone till 18!
It is a fact that majority of teachers teaching maths are not maths graduates but arts graduates teaching and teaching assistants taking maths classes. Furthermore, a number of maths PGCE courses accept graduates to learn to teach maths with an A level in maths as being their highest maths qualification.
How can a teacher whose subject is other than maths have the ability to inspire a love of maths in a child or make maths relevant to child.
As an SEA I have been in a top stream year 11 maths class where over half the children did not understand how to solve an equation for a single variable and most had given up - one girl persistantly asking questions was told to shut up or be sent to the headmistress for punishment for disrupting the class. During the exercise element of the class I was helping pupils in pairs and she kept asking me to help her and I told her that I was working around the class and would eventually get to her - All the pupils I helped had the same problem including her BUT SHE WAS ASKING THE TEACHER THE QUESTON THEY ALL NEEDED ANSWERS TO INORDER TO UNDERSTAND but had given up trying.
In another school I worked for the autumn term with a year 10 class of 18 SEN's (Special Education Needs pupils) out of 19 for a term who had given up written off by the school, friends and families and themselves with severe discipline and behaviour problems with most of the pupils on special forms that I had to fill in for attendance and behaviour and several had allocated funds for full time personal teaching assistants BUT THE SCHOOL WITHDREW THEM FOR GENERAL SCHOOL DUTIES INCLUDING TEACHING CLASSES BY THEMSELVES. I was supposed to be with a Teacher with management duties that meant he often left me alone to carry out those duties.
I tried too spend 'value time' with each pupil to find out why and managed to turn several around for maths by making maths relevant to them - One for instance thought school was a waste of time as he would be a jobbing carpentar with his cousin - I spent part of a lesson with him showing him how our algebra topic was relevant as he needed algebra to create bills of materials for jobs to price up quotes and also had to calculate labour hours to accurately price a job inorder to successfully get work that paid a profit and also had to create VAT invoices and maintain accounts and books - When he realised the relevance of mathematics to his chosen career he arrived on time and worked hard and made progress and, as algebra is 45% of a GCSE maths exams, he had a good chance of getting at least a C grade GCSE based upon algebra alone.
If maths is taught by teachers who studied maths and like maths it is possible we will have far more children made aware of the beauty of mathematics and the relevance of mathematics to them and hence interested in mathematics and wanting to study mathematics out of love fopr the subject or out of need.
The worst possible thing we could do is force children to study mathematics the way I was forced to study French!!!
What we need to do however is realise that when a child has a problem with a subject they lose interest and 'drop out' of class and develop a mental block against the subject. As maths is so precise compared to the 'waffle' subjects it is more critical in maths to ensure no child is left behind as they will be lost to the subject. Having realised that we need to ensure smaller maths classes in secondary school and develop 'no child left behind' systems to keep childrens attention and achieving the desired learning objectives. DO THAT AND MANY MORE CHILDREN WILL SEE MATHS AS THE EASY OPTION IT IS with 95% of marks for the correct method and 5% for arithmetic solutions! instead of seeing it as the hard option it isnt.
The one area I think Ms Vorderman has a point and that is divorcing arithmetic from mathematics - Agreed you need arithmetic to produce a solution to a mathematical equation when you have solved it mathematically BUT you dont need mathematics as a life skill BUT you do need arithmetic - The traditional 3 r's or Reading wRiting and aRithmetic. Perhaps we shpuld have a basic school diploma in the 3 R's - no one allowed to leave school till they have a minimum competency in reading writing and arithmetic.
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Anonymous | 10 Aug 2011 2:29 pm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378908/Thousands-teachers-dont-degrees-subjects-teach.html
Remember when teachers were skilled and experienced or dual professional? Or was I just lucky that the math teacher that inspired me was a 50+ year old ex engineer how was able to show us how to solve problems using maths. My daughter’s secondary school teachers are ALL younger than 40, average 30, I could not name one that hasn’t been outside the education system (that is schooled, qualified at uni, back to school to teach). I attended a training course so that I could understand the methods of teaching math to primary school pupils (for my son, it included subtraction by adding along a number line and all work across the page etc) the expert trainer (ex teacher no older than 35) could not even add double digits without a calculator; the most shocking aspect was a list of expectations for primary school pupils and the shocking fact that 5 year olds should be able to add and subtract using a calculator – very depressing!
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