Understanding and Learning Math

Celia C. Castro

“The only way to LEARN mathematics is to DO mathematics” as Paul Halmos so the challenge of being math teacher is how to encourage their student to practice solving, analyzing and understanding the different concepts of mathematics. It is necessary that the student why they need to understand and learn in order for them to exert their effort to study it. Teachers nowadays find hard time on how to motivate their student to do more in math because most of the learners have a trauma about numbers and equations.

Everyone agrees that learning math can be difficult, but some people believe math is important because math is everywhere, everyone needs it and God created math. Math really is there to help us to keep us well ordered, to help us learn new things and to help us teach new things. However, math is not only used for things you do. It also brings order to everything around you; the world is organized essentially because it was made with math.

Mathematics has many practical applications and is needed at every stage of life. People can go along without mother tongue but not without mathematical calculations. A person belonging to any class of society whether poor or wealthy, has to use the knowledge of mathematics in one form to another. The study of mathematics disciplines the mind and develops our reasoning power.

In summary, math is not only important for success in life; it is all around us. The laws of mathematics are evident throughout the world, including in nature, and the problem-solving skills obtained from completing math homework can help us tackle problems in other areas of life. While many may complain that math is boring or complicated, the truth is that a life devoid of math means that we go around experiencing the world on a much less interesting level than we could.

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The author is Teacher III at Dapdap High School, Bamban, Tarlac