What makes people avoid mathematics is the use of inappropriate teaching methods. Math is a subject that requires a lot of practical examples (the "projection" sub-topic will best be understood if learners are taken to the airport and see how aircrafts take-off and land etc. The "kinematics" will best be understood if learners are taken to the Lushoto skyline. "triangles and pyramids" sub-topic will best be understood if learners are taken to the pyramids of Egypt or, at least shown a video with something interesting about them)
Mathematics, as a subject, is the art of logical thinking. That means every living thing is a mathematician and it is only the dead who cannot understand mathematics
As a proof to my argument above, we find people who score "F of zero" in mathematics but they are very good carpenters and masons. Bill Gates, the inventor of the contemporary IT technology, was a mathematics "reject" but he is a geniuous today. Name others like Einstein, Newton etc who were "unpopular" to mathematicians but today ............
So it is just a quest of national priorities that make learners flee away from this subject that is the heart of all other subjects. People will only love math if the govt sets favorable policies to make this subject "lovable"
By saying "favorable policies" I don't mean budgetary % inflation. I mean setting policies that will stimulate educators to use all available teaching tools in making learners understand. Best practises can be used. e.g. Tumain University produces the best mathematics educators. The government invested zero shillings in building this university. It allocates a maximum of 60% cost per student as bursary but yet what we see coming from there is wonders.
- Why don't we peak a leaf or two from Tumaini University and apply it to our oldest universities?
- Why don't we stimulate the private sector investors in education by giving bursaries to learners at secondary school levels so they get admitted in private schools instead of embarking on over ambitious expensive community schools physical infrastructure development?
- Can't we learn from Columbia, Venezuela, Chile, Netherlands who have applied the voucher system in education reduced spending in education while increasing quality? check these links http://www.tamongsco.org/od/uploads/Netherland%20education%20financing%20system%20Patrinos.pdf or search by google using key words like "education voucher" or names of popular education researchers of the world bank "Hanushek" "Woessman" "Psycharopolous" "Patrinos" etc
Nshenu