Math...

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by dlavery

The journey is the reward.

In dealing with math this is so true.

I do have to bring up the point though, is it really the student's fault they don't want to do their homework? I am going to quote from a paper I was reading when I clicked into this thread (isn't random coincidence funny?).

Originally Posted by Paul Lockhart (A Mathematician's Lament)

The main problem with school mathematics is that there are no problems. Oh, I know what passes for problems in math classes, these insipid “exercises.” “Here is a type of problem. Here is how to solve it. Yes it will be on the test. Do exercises 1-35 odd for homework.” What a sad way to learn mathematics: to be a trained chimpanzee.
But a problem, a genuine honest-to-goodness natural human question— that’s another thing. How long is the diagonal of a cube? Do prime numbers keep going on forever? Is infinity a number? How many ways can I symmetrically tile a surface? The history of mathematics is the history of mankind’s engagement with questions like these, not the mindless regurgitation of formulas and algorithms (together with contrived exercises designed to make use of them).

By sheer chance I was reading that paper yesterday (I am really taking my time to digest it) when a friend mentioned they were struggling with their math course. Their main sticking point was they did not understand what they were finding, when asked what a derivative was they rattled off some equation they had been told to memorize. Figuring I had just asked the question in a bad manner I tried again by asking what it represented. They merely shrugged and said they didn't know.

I guess, in my mind, students not wanting to do homework is a symptom of something far more disturbing. Math education seems to be so focused on wrote memorization instead of passionate exploration.