DISLIKE OF MATHEMATICS AMONGST SECONDARY STUDENTS

2648 WORDS

We always see small children counting numbers from 1 to 10, even sing a song make up from the numbers. But what happen to these children as they grow up? What make them to change their mind to dislike mathematics? Some will roll their eyes or let out a sigh. They give so many reasons, such as “It’s too hard,” “I’m not good at math,” or “why do I even need Mathematics?” Where does this attitude come from?

After being a Mathematics teacher for about 3 years, I have discovered that almost all students in Brunei Darussalam claimed to “hate mathematics”. This can be seen from their attitude in the class, interaction with the teacher and also the students’ progress report. The very much sad thing is that students just want to pass the examination without understanding why they have to study mathematics. Still mathematics has the highest failure rate of any subject at school-leaving level. Why does mathematics seem to inspire fear and intimidation in students in secondary schools and even when they are in the higher level.

In my childhood, I still remember is that I was not taught how to study mathematics. Like any subject the study of mathematics becomes a pile of information. But if you are taught how to study mathematics