[roberta.deaso]

#3376

Discuss the True/False Statements from the viewpoint of when you were a math student and now as a math teacher.

Mathematics is Computation. – By definition, there is computation in math, however, I think that the true false statement here is that math is solely computation. Math can be very fluid. Numbers can be moved, changed, and reworked to help solve any problem.

Math is just memorizing rules. – Math should never be memorization. The brain can only memorize so much.

You are either good at math or bad at math. – I have heard so many students say this about themselves. I always say that I’m going to teach you that math is a tool you can use in whatever way you need.

Math is creative. and Math is exploration. I think most math teachers fail there students in this way. I remember that, when I was a girl, I tried to tell my teacher a way that I’d discovered to multiply by 9s. She said “students aren’t going to understand that.” As a teacher, I’ve taught my students that method many times and they really understand it. By saying that to me, she negated her intelligence as much as she did mine (not to mention the intelligence of every other student she taught).

There are many ways to problem solve. and Mistakes help our learning. – I really think that people wouldn’t be so afraid of math if they realized that these sayings are true. With all the ways you can alter a problem to find a solution certainly give a person many ways to find their answers.