current issues in education

what are the current issues in education?(maths)

A issue at GCSE level for maths is that a lot of it can be very dull compared to higher level maths but as people arent made aware that there is exciting and beautiful maths out there they gain the opinion that all of maths is dull and dry (which imo gcse maths is but university level maths is amazing)

Reply 2

Great444

is it that the maths taught at universities is more interesting and engaging than the maths taught in GCSE and schools?

Reply 3

Great444

could I add to that that at university we are taught more enjoyable maths such as permutation, coding, group theory which is quite interesting and engaging but at schools for example pupils find learning algebra dull and hardly can link it to real life.

Reply 4

username853993

Original post by meme12

is it that the maths taught at universities is more interesting and engaging than the maths taught in GCSE and schools?

I think it's that there's so many areas of maths at uni to do in both the pure and applied side it and it's not plug and chug maths like at GCSE (and to some extent a-level) so rwy

Reply 5

tanyapotter

complex numbers aren't taught as part of the core curriculum

Reply 6

Elivercury

I think the large issue with Maths is that it is not made clear where any of this will be used later in life, so a lot of it can appear abstract and pointless.

I also think one of the larger issues with education in general is a lack of respect for it from both parents and children, and it being viewed as day-care rather than a place of learning. But this is not specific to Maths.

Reply 7

Great444

Thank you all for the reply I would like to hear more about the issues, but at the interview maybe I should sound more positive about the relationship the teacher build between both the parents and students , what there are other issues I could discuss not for maths only.

Reply 8

Great444

Original post by tanyapotter

complex numbers aren't taught as part of the core curriculum

True but that will be very hard for the students to understand, not fun really, I find coding and permutation easier for students to understand.

Reply 9

username853993

Original post by meme12

In relation to the teacher, even though it is difficult a great teachet can make the dullest topics exciting by perhaps mentioning it's applications to areas in other subjects at a higher level or just showing enthusiasm for the subject themselves.

This quality is lacking in 90% of maths teachers

Reply 10

Great444

are you a maths teacher?I think this a good answer with a way to improve it too.

Reply 11

username1258398

Original post by Elivercury

I think the large issue with Maths is that it is not made clear where any of this will be used later in life, so a lot of it can appear abstract and pointless.

Almost nothing you learn in school will be used later in life. Teaching kids facts which they'll use later in life isn't the point of school. Fundamentally, a lot of Maths is "abstract and pointless", in exactly the same way that art, literature and music are abstract and pointless.

...a student asked Plato the value of knowledge, at which point Plato told a servant to give the student a coin, "since he must have value for what he learns." Then the student was expelled from the Academy.

Reply 12

Great444

I have been asked another question too what is the gap between maths at school and at university or if there is any gap?

Reply 13

username853993

Original post by meme12

I have been asked another question too what is the gap between maths at school and at university or if there is any gap?

I think the main gap (at least for me, I basically study physics and maths at uni) was going from plug in and play maths to actually needing true understanding of a topic to answer the harder questions, even at a-level you could just memorise methods for hard questions, but at uni this method is extremely ineffective and chances are you will do poorly at uni level using it