One of my students roped me into a game once.
There was a cup on the table, and each of us held a pencil. The winner of the game had to throw a pencil into the cup from a reasonable distance without the pencil falling out. The best part of the game was that we were saying what we would prefer for the rest of the tutoring period.
Naturally, I wanted my student to study every day and do all her math.
…and naturally, too, she wanted the opposite.
No! I won’t tell you the outcome of the game. But, I will tell you what I thought about after.
Is studying math every day the best idea?
Almighty Math
Phew! I cannot begin to tell you how much math is always the elephant in every study room. I entered the search term, I hate math, on Google, and there were over 60 million results in less than one second.
Articles and articles and articles talking about this cringe that students experience with math. Some of these articles go ahead to offer suggestions that can help students overcome the I Hate Math problem.
It gets even more heated when the arguments start about whether math is important in the real world. For example, the art students are sure there is no need for math in their future; they might as well leave it for the science students.
So, these discussions go on, and sometimes students get away with their arguments against math.
Here’s what Math actually is…
I know that it is easy to focus on numbers and judge math as only that. The numbers can be frustrating too. But, math is actually way beyond numbers. The most important part of math is math skills.
So, let’s skip the focus on advanced algebra, geometry, calculus, complex theorems for a second and focus on the basic skill. Math teaches you how to solve problems. Some people may say that math is everywhere around us, and we have to engage with some form of math everywhere we go, and that is the truth.
Suppose you’re at the grocery store and looking for a bargain on a bag of potato chips; how do you make sense of the offerings you find there? Math.
Suppose you want to have some friends over, and you pick a recipe online, and you have to make all these measurements, so you make just enough food for your guests? Math.
Remember that game I talked about at the beginning of this piece? I can tell you that some math was required to estimate how much force to put into each pencil throw.
Math is everywhere. You need math skills to comprehend a lot of things around you.
So, should I study Math every day?
The short answer is: Yes!
Seriously, you’ll love it when you get to know it. I’m not claiming that it’s going to be easy, but it is worth it. It doesn’t matter if you’re an art student or a science student because math is a life skill.
For educators, it can be tricky teaching math online, and I’ve been there. I mean, it was difficult teaching math when everyone was in the same room, but translating math to online tutoring platforms is challenging.
I will say this, though: Math is a challenge for a reason.
Another one of my students had some difficulty remembering the 8x multiplication table, specifically, the 8×8. So, I came up with this solution; you ate and ate until you were sick on the floor. She looked at me like I was from outer space, and maybe that’s true!
The trick to excelling at math is: Practice makes you a master. That’s why you have to face the challenge (studying math) daily. You can challenge yourself to get creative with the way you understand math problems. Do this, and you’ll build your math mental strength in no time.
Now, you should not study math the whole day or even for several hours at once. That’ll only tire you out and increase the cringe. You need to balance: 30 minutes to 1 hour of math practice every day is an excellent study schedule.
…and I don’t mean sitting in front of your online tutor (or physical tutor) stubbornly waiting for the time to pass.
Devoted math practice makes you a skilled master.
I hope this helps!