Everyone has a personal relationship with maths and like many relationships, there are ups and downs along the way. Through our Maths and Me series we have been fortunate enough to interview a wide variety of people, drawn from a range of professions. What becomes apparent is that there are many reasons why an individual may have some strong (positive and negative) emotions tied up to the subject of maths.
For some individuals, it was that inspirational maths teacher whose energy, enthusiasm, competence, and belief acted as at ‘track changer’ moving them from a journey of maths loathing to one of quiet confidence or outright enjoyment.
For others, they had experienced the enjoyment of maths almost from the start and this seemed to have continued throughout their lives. Sadly, often it was the lack of practical application of maths that made it seem removed from the real world, and as such early enjoyment and engagement may have waned as lessons became less and less applicable to an older student’s developing world.
For many of those interviewed, it seemed to be the move to adulthood and the required practical application of maths through household financial management, shopping, and budgeting that provided a focus and rationale for the subject. For others, their careers provided the rationale, enjoyment, and realization that maths had a positive place in their lives. Whatever the individuals’ stories, it becomes apparent that it isn’t (a positive relationship towards maths) just down to a rich engaging curriculum maths curriculum and sometimes it sadly it is despite the absence of this, that some will eventually find maths to be their friend, not foe!
