Is it a conspiracy?

Question

Mathematics is said to be the common thread. Why are we so poorly taught that which is the key to understanding?

Answer 1

you are taught as much as you want to learn.

Answer 2

It depends how you define "poorly taught" I think the majority of teachers are very good at their subjects. There is a distinct difference between "poorly taught" and not learning what is being taught. However, I do recognise that one method of teaching does not suit all pupils so it could be this that leads to the feeling of being poorly taught for some students.

Curriculum demands and league tables may also have a bearing - the schools are geared to meeting targets which can mean teaching students to pass exams rather than teaching them to use the subjects being taught although the two should go hand in hand

Answer 3

AnyMouse hit the nail on the head.

People are just lazy. And why would they study maths when they could study the most manipulative conspiracy in centuries: The Da Vinci Code.

I've been studying theology and the occult for years and it has to be said that all these people spouting off about "secret societies" etc, etc. haven't got the first clue. The most annoying thing being the quotation of the Gospel of Thomas and other gnostic scriptures to support the theory that Christ got married.

No Gnostic scripture says that.

Is it a conspiracy?

No, it's just covenient for lazy, resentful people in denial to blame others for their problems and "failings". It's just an excuse for people to believe what they want without any evidence to support it. Blame it on the evil, human, mysterious force and don't look inside ourselves to find where the problem really is. Human beings aren't mostly interested in the truth, they're interested in feeling superior, having an easy life, getting what they want, having everything handed to them on a plate. etc.

Mathematics, a common thread? Every science is a common thread. Maths isn't THE key to understanding, it's an aspect of that "key".

Answer 4

A VERY good question! We, in America, need to wake up to our pedagogical failings... there are a lot of reasons why people fail to apprehend the sheer importance of mathematics, but I don't think the government, despite their "track record," is NOT directly responsible here. I think we all share some culpability here in the fact that we have made mathematics < what it could be... it COULD be our saving grace, but we treat it as though it were some boorish, overly cryptic, collection of abstractions reserved solely for the esoteric & the sole domain of "eccentric geniuses." The movie, "A Beautiful Mind," is indicative of this "mind set." As an aside, actually Nash was most well known for his work in applied math rather than any "pure mathematical" investigtions with which he may have become involved.

We are in need of romantisizing this area of language development because mathematics IS a language! We need to have students "feel" the connections behind the notations... to understand the syntactical reasoning for the "protocols & progressions & proofs..." We are collectively responsible for the "desireability" of this area of human expression. 'Nuf said.

Answer 5

No, it's not a conspiracy. It's just badly taught. I remember all my maths teachers being a type: dictatorial, intolerant, unimaginative bullies. I remember the first time someone explain how logs work (I was 25!) properly and the idea clicked home. I know plenty of intelligent people who hate maths and have a mental block about it because of the way they were taught.

The answer is to change how the subject is taught and the people who teach it!

Answer 6

Most (not all) teachers in the United States are idiots - hence the state of education is last in the world. You have teachers with no math background trying to teach math. Then you have curriculums that promote Ineffective Teaching practices, e.g. trying to teach a classroom in which you have retards, normal children, children with learning disabilities, english as second language, etc. Poor moron teacher has a tough enough job trying to teach math besides trying to teach culturally diverse students, retards, and so on. In attempting to raise the level of learners who are retards or have learning disabilities or speak english as a second language, the fools in the department of education have successfully managed to drag down the normal students to the level of the ones they were trying to elevate. So now you have "All children left behind.", an IDEA program which should have been killed before it was started and a fine example of an idiot president. This is what happens when fools get to power. Get ready America, because if nothing else gets you down, the teaching brotherhood will be the reason of your downfall!

Answer 7

No such thing as a conspiracy, thats all in our heads!
But..the key to understanding is within us all.
As a child we cannot understand how to do this.
As an adult we may understand how to do this.
You must be interested in any thing to learn it.
I do my math back to front from what i was taught in school.
also there is a formula for maths..
it makes me wonder why we are not shown this at school.
I am still working out the fomula and have many parts allready written down..it makes maths easy and fun.
Maybe the teachers are not as smart or leaned as they think.
i failed at maths in school, looked out the window, never did home work.
I love maths now..since i started to investigate it.
im 46 now. :)

Answer 8

Because for those who get a headache thinking about anything more complex than 2+2=4, they quit and go on to do little more than process oxygen into carbon dioxide for the rest of their miserable lives.

Answer 9

We are so poorly taught mathematics because we are taught algebra, trig, calc, etc. by those who majored in physical education.

Answer 10

For most people I have met, the question isn't "why are we so poorly taught". Rather, the question is "why don't we bother to learn".

Answer 11

Is it poorly taught or are the concepts difficult to grasp?