Math Lessons.

 Math Lessons.

 

Thinking of the type of math we were taught while in elementary school, it seems to me that our teachers tried to be sure that we all “got” the lessons. We had multiple examples given and chances to correct our mistakes. Patty tells me that our “score” in the mathematics area nationally is less than ten percent of our students who understand basic math and can do even the simplest of problems. Ok, guess what! Our schools have given up on books. Notepads or whatever the electronic name that is given to these little pieces of programming have taken the place of books. My strength in school was English—literature, history, essays, grammar, debate, and anything pertaining to that field. Math was not my favorite subject. Science was interesting as long as it was explained, but with classes as large as ours, it was not a class with homework. What teacher actually wanted to grade papers? Even back in the 80s, the teachers at Ben Milam gave homework and had tutorials for students who had any difficulties understanding concepts. No, we did not have a good math teacher back then, but most of the parents made up for that problem. One of the PTA mothers made the comment that the mothers were the ones doing the lessons in math during that time since the teacher just put the example on the board and gave homework based on that alone. Somehow the students still got what they needed. Looking at the books available in math today at Mardel’s, it seems the best books were Japanese. Somehow that strikes me as pretty strange. But if our schools still used textbooks, we would not need supplements! Well, but students still need good teachers who care about how well they are understanding the materials.

 

Got to thinking about the idea of understanding this morning after contemplating things like fractions and decimals. Some folks just seem to catch on right away to ideas or concepts, while others simply stumble around as if walking into a house in a foreign land and trying to understand the language. When we were growing up, we heard about the idea/person of God and the Son from the time we were little. We were not listening to a foreign language at all. The Jews in the days that Christ walked among men were not walking in a foreign land either. They had heard so much from the rabbis and the teachers who instructed them to keep the Sabbath. They had heard that the birthplace of the Christ was supposed to be Bethlehem. Then some guy walking from Galilee showed up. He told them “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” And the Jews scoffed and reminded themselves: “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, “I came down from heaven?” Eventually, Jesus made it fairly plain: “Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”

 

You know, Jesus reminded them that it was written in the prophets: “And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” (John 6:45) Some of the people hearing Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue wondered how he could even read, and yet he taught them. It must have been difficult to understand many of the concepts that Jesus was teaching—living water, his flesh to be their meat being two very difficult ones. Still, the people had been listening to religious teachings during their entire lifetimes. They would understand that giving half a basket of wheat to someone was very different from giving them a basket full and pressed down to be of good measure. It’s pretty obvious that God does not want just a fraction of our love, our understanding. He wants your WHOLE heart and mind to be His.

 

It is highly unlikely that our national scores will improve in any area of scholastic endeavor without some changes. As long as the current system continues to be used, teachers are not going to feel appreciated, students will remain confused, and other nations are going to climb the technical barriers that were in place for so many years. Each parent will have to begin to apply a certain amount of effort into making sure that their children have the tools that come with understanding math, science, and language concepts. And even teaching the “Golden Rule” could contribute to a better atmosphere for education in our schools—and in the nation. Yes, “Do unto others and you would have them do unto you” is still a good foundation of social skills.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.