Breathing Maths

"In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them." -- Johann von Neumann

(A discussion started by my college alumni group inspired me to write this article.)

The theme of the discussion was about, making the students to learn (feel) the applications of mathematics, instead of simply dumping the concepts in mind. On reading that e-mail thread, an incident which occurred during my high school days came to my mind. On a lazy afternoon in my high school, we were industriously solving some mindless matrix problem. Our only goal (including my math teacher) was to get the text book answer. Like a rare astronomical occurrence, I raised a question to my teacher. The question was not on Math.

I asked him, “Sir, what is the use of this matrices and vectors, which we were learning for past six years. Also they occupy first two chapters of the text book every time. Are they so important?” The whole class turned towards me. He looked at me as if I asked him a very silly question for his intellectual capability. After a brief moment he gave me the reply, which I remember until now and forever. It goes like this, “They have two uses. 1. They have 40% weightage in your final exams, 2. When you become a father, some day your kid may ask you doubt in matrices or vectors, and this will make you to help them with it, and that’s what real application of matrix is.” I am not ashamed to tell that I fell for that answer that time, as it is partially true in most case of our educational system.

I don’t know whether he really meant it or said in a funny sense. But whatever it is, his answer has two hidden facts.

1.       The curriculum of our education won’t change for decades to come, as it was the same decades before. Same subjects, same teaching methods, even same laboratory apparatus. It has been nearly 6 years since he had given me that answer, and yet students are reading the same curriculum which I read, same laboratory experiments, teachers working out same kind of problems. Same pattern follows in the case of college education too.

2.       We never applied whatever we had studied. It’s wrong to put it that way. More correctly, we have never tried to apply what we have studied, or never even thought of applying it. Math dies a peaceful death, after our school final exams. Resurrects again during our college math, only to die again half a dozen month later.

Just think for a moment, when is the last time you have been with Math? Most probable case would be, at high school math? 

But the fact is that we are living in a world of math, thinking “math lives only in book”.

             My intention is not to play a blame game on education system, teachers, or students. Or to explain the everyday applications of maths chronologically (as it will eat away hours of your time). But to hit home a simple fact...

Go deep down into anything, and you will find math there.

Time for an 'Educational revolution'

Is school education all about securing a seat in premier institutions? At the present scenario, the obvious answer seems to be a “YES!!! What else?” In a famous novel, where the author mentions about getting into the premier institutes, he says, “If you can lock yourself in a room with book for two years and throw the key away, you can ‘probably’ make it there”. This line perfectly explains the situation in our country.

Making advantage from this situation and mentality of parents and students, the coaching institutes are perfectly making a fortune. The parents with the expectation and fear of providing their child a promising future, joins their child in coaching institutes. They are nothing but a locked room with books, not to leave aside the lucrative fee structure depending upon the lock up (!) period, and their proposed coaching method, which gives the parents an elevated confidence that their child will be a Newton, at the end of the course!

                It is after this stage, where the mental attitude of students towards education and learning changes from “joy” to “concepts and formulas”. They are cranked up again and again over years stuffing the formulas into their head, to crack their ultimate competitive exams.

                It’s similar to merely feeding large varieties of datum and algorithm into the memory of a robot, instructing it to perform a predefined set of tasks under respective conditions, which can be technically referred as ‘artificial intelligence’. And it is this sort of intelligence that is being imparted to children at coaching institutes and even at school. This ‘artificially stuffed knowledge’ will have no use except in clearing exams and scoring marks.

                What is the use of solving same conventional problems which has been over a number of times already by number of people? The schools also contribute an equal part in promoting such rotten educational practices. And over the time, the school itself took the role of coaching institutes also, by offering intensive class room programs for competitive exams along with the academic curriculum. Are they providing those programs for wellness of students???... NO, but purely for money. Thus those schools have forgotten their fundamental cause. The sad plight is that such schools are increasing in numbers.

                The middle school level (Grade VI-IX), is the age when students are exposed to fundamental building block concepts and wonders of science and universe. It is at this stage where they should be encouraged to question, experiment, analyze, and feel the science without fear and stress of exams. But unfortunately it is at this age, the children are forced or encouraged to join variety of coaching centers ranging from, IIT-JEE, SAT, to specialized coaching on Mathematics, Physics, and chemistry for their school exams too. At this situation, most of the students get diverted to exam oriented study and forget the real reason for which they should learn.

                It is the part of teacher to kindle the curiosity by asking questions, and not by giving the answers straight away. Teachers should make way for the students to find the answers, as a Chinese proverb goes, “It is better to teach a hungry man, how to fish, rather than feeding him a fish.

               

There is a question ‘How?’ and ‘Why?’ hiding behind everything we come across in our daily life from, ’Why birds fly?’ to ‘How ships float?’ Education is not about last night preparation or two month crash course. It is a continuous process like a rolling stone gathering mass. It begins from day we born and lasts until we die. “Not even a single day should pass without improvement”.

                The solution to all the above issues neither can be given simply in a series of bulletins, nor are the solutions simple to be identified by a single person. As it is a problem which had grown gradually over the years, as should be its eradication too. Like the recent change in CBSE curriculum, a complete evaluation of our education system and redesigning is the need of the hour, as time is racing towards ‘Vision India: 2020’. If this problem is overlooked, then it can pose a serious threat to our nation’s future knowledge resource. To sum it up, an “Educational revolution” Is the need of the hour.