Yap, Erika Hanne E.

2011-32221

August 27, 2014

Math 1 WFX
Rediscovering Our Love

Before we all started schooling, we all did math- and actually enjoyed it. We would get
praises and claps from the adults who heard us count 1 to 10. They would claim us to be math
geniuses. But all of our confidence disappeared when we entered school. Suddenly, math
wasnt just numbers. Math became shapes, patterns and even letters. As our knowledge of
math grew, our fondness for it shrunk.
Looking back at my basic education days, I was never the best in math, nor was I the
worse. When I get the right answer, which is a shock, I found it difficult to replicate the solution.
Sometimes, I would get so frustrated at answering math questions, I just gave up. I knew the
concepts, I followed the solutions, yet somehow I still couldnt get the right answer. Seeing my
classmates understand the lessons added to my frustration, and receiving even lower grades
didnt really reinforce my liking of it.
Due to this frustration, I was really beginning to hate math. Upon entering the University,
I thought I had the option of not dealing with it anymore. I planned on even graduating without
taking any math courses! Alas, fate (in the form of CRS) does not always seem to bend to my
will, and I ended up taking this Math 1 course. I expected this course to be just like in high
school, where we would solve problems, look for that one final answer, while everything else is
wrong. I do hope it isnt like that. Instead, I hope to learn more about mathematics and why
there is a need to study it in the first place.
Since we were never taught why there is a need to study math, I found it out for myself. I
realized that Math is very much integrated in our lives that it can never be avoided. It is very
useful in helping us with our daily tasks, like buying things from the store or using paper to wrap
a gift. Nowadays, being able to do math is a survival skill, without it one is considered to be
numerically illiterate. Math was never limited to the four walls of the classroom, and that is
something I discovered only in College. Now that I am given the chance, I wish to learn more
about it.
To say that I never want to do math again is impossible. Due to my lack of exposure and
understanding, I have developed the interest in practical mathematics. Throughout elementary
and high school, we continually study math without knowing why and how it affects us. This may
be the reason why I lacked motivation in studying math. I didnt know why it would be relevant to
my life, so I found it useless. I want to have a better understanding of it, since I will be using it in
my future profession. When I graduate, I may be tasked to be a substitute teacher for
mathematics. I want to be able to share why there is a need to study math and make my future
students appreciate studying math.
We all may have different reasons for eventually disliking math. It may be because of
some teacher or pressure from parents, but the fact is we all once liked Math. And through this
class, I hope that everyone will be able to rediscover that love for math we all once had.