By the time most people graduate high school, I would venture to say that, whether they themselves think they had a good or bad experience with mathematics, they actually have a very small idea of what math is. And it is at this point in their lives (when they graduate high school and enter college) that many choose (some more passionately than others) to stop learning math, or at least to avoid learning math (avoid taking college math courses) as much as possible. I'm not upset that at this point they choose to stop taking math classes in pursuit of achievement in other great fields of knowledge and practice, because their desired majors of study may not coincide with more math classes -- we all have different interests and we should each pursue our own unique interests and that's great. But I am upset that at the point of high school graduation, I believe most people haven't learned enough of the right things about mathematics to understand its true nature such that they are able to make a well-informed decision about the degree to which mathematics should be a part of the rest of their lives. They don't have an accurate idea of what it is they're turning away from when they decide that math is not "for them". It's like deciding that you don't like chocolate before you've ever even tasted it. Of course, in turn, these high school graduates become the adults and the citizens of our society that continue to go and live clueless of the wonders in mathematics right under their noses. And this is simply a tragedy.
There are really fantastic supplementary materials out there to help "normal people" access the wonderful, true, beautiful expansive, powerful nature of mathematics (much especially from England comes to mind). I continue to learn and love so much from the passionate work and sharing of resources of individuals like Brady Haran (the Numberphile guy) and Marcus du Sautoy (the mastermind behind "The Story of Maths" among other projects). But why would anyone choose to spend their time looking at supplemental math stuff if they have a poor opinion or even just an inaccurate perspective of mathematics from their school experiences that actually draws them away from the grandeur of mathematics rather than towards it? The opportunity to recognize said grandeur of mathematics should not have to come from some supplemental or extracurricular thing outside of school. Rather, students' regular, mandated, daily mathematics education must be driven by helping students to understand and appreciate what real mathematicians do and what real mathematics is.
My ultimate career goal is to be the liaison connecting every child and youth to authentic mathematics in all its beauty through the schools that they attend every day.
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If you aren't familiar with Brady Haran / Numberphile or Marcus du Sautoy / "The Story of Maths", check out some of these short and engaging YouTube videos!
1) Here are a few of my favorite Numberphile videos:
- "Philosophy of Numbers"
- "The Mathematics of Crime and Terrorism"
- "Mathematical Way to Choose a Toilet"
- "Unexpected Shapes"
- "Fair Dice"
- "Was YOUR Vote Counted?"
- "Batman Equation"
2) Here's a trailer for "The Story of Maths": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDwFElncCxc
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