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THERE IS A strong and misguided belief in a broad segment of society that people are somehow genetically programmed to be good or bad at maths. When people say that they don’t have the maths gene it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It is simply not true that some people can’t do maths and it is one of our goals to dispel this dangerous myth. The message of Maths Week, which is currently taking place across Ireland this week, from today, is that everyone can do maths. It’s just like any other subject.
Of course, not every child can go on to be a top mathematician but by the same token not everyone who plays football can represent Ireland. Everyone can do better at maths and sports and enjoy themselves at the same time.
No one would accept it if a person said they can’t do English, we need to engender the same attitude in relation to maths. If children have a positive experience of maths and get a sense of achievement out of mastering elements of the subject they will be motivated and will thrive at it.
Understand your phone plan and your payslip
Maths Week aims to help people understand the value and importance of maths in their everyday lives. The reality is that people need maths skills if they are to understand their phone price plans, calculate their household budgets, and make sense of their payslips. If you don’t understand what a percentage is how can you figure out the special offers in supermarkets or the taxation changes made by the Minister for Finance in the budget?
A recent OECD report found that under half of the UK participants reached the necessary standard in basic financial maths. Ireland didn’t participate in the study but there is no reason to believe we don’t have major problems with everyday financial reckoning.
In many cases the basic reason why people don’t succeed at maths it is because they do not believe in their own mathematical ability. However, it is quite often the case that those same individuals exhibit very strong mathematical aptitude in other aspects of their lives.
Many people who haven’t achieved high standards in maths and who would claim they have no talent or feeling for maths may be able to add up darts scores at blindingly fast speeds and with total accuracy or work out the odds on a horse racing accumulator bet. They have no difficulty with addition, subtraction, multiplication, divisions, fractions or percentages in certain contexts and with practice. They clearly aren’t missing the mythical “maths gene”.
People have the potential to be good at maths even if they don’t realise it.
Maths Week is an opportunity to tap into the areas which people are motivated by and help guide them forwards from there. The week isn’t just for school-goers, however. It is for teachers and parents and the public as well.
The biggest predictor of children’s success at school is their parents and the educational ethos that is transmitted in the home. If we can convince parents that they and their children can do better at maths we will go a long way to achieving our goals.
As a nation we have to ensure that everyone does much better at maths. At the moment we are in the top half of the international maths classroom but if we are to realise our ambitions in terms of becoming a knowledge economy we need to do be at the top.
Ireland has a continuing demand for skilled workers in IT, engineering, science, financial services and other areas depending on mathematics. We can’t have a situation where we are importing all our skilled people. We need to raise everyone’s standards when it comes to maths.
Of course, not everyone can become a mathematician, an actuary or an engineer but by becoming better at maths they can become better at whatever job they do. Maths helps people in every aspect of their lives at home, at work, and in their understanding of the natural world.
Over the next number of days more than a quarter of a million schoolchildren and thousands of adults will take part in this all-Ireland celebration of all things mathematical. Maths Week promotes awareness, appreciation and understanding of maths through a huge variety of events and activities which are organised by a partnership of over 50 groups including universities, institutes of technology, colleges, museums, libraries, visitor centres, professional bodies and other organisations which understand the importance of maths to society.
Maths through the medium of clowns
Events are firmly focused on the fun as well as practical sides of mathematics with presentations from mathematical clowns, magicians, bubble artists and others taking place around the country.
Children can learn about the maths behind code making and breaking, internet searches, construction, and even juggling.
This is the eleventh year of Maths Week and it has grown in size every year since we started. Joining local presenters we have more than 20 international speakers and entertainers performing at events in over 50 venues around the country. In addition, most schools around in Ireland are organising their own events around the week.
The aim of all of these events is to take maths out of the text-book and show other aspects of the subject that the curriculum doesn’t have space for. To show that maths can be enjoyed rather than endured, and crucially that maths is for everyone.
Eoin Gill is the founder of Maths Week Ireland.
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Amazing how the official narrative does not mention the real reason for going into Afghanistan. Namely the desire for Bush et al to build a pipeline to bring the gas from the “Stans” which were newly independent of Russia. In fact it no secret that America was in negotiations with the Taliban to build same but discussions broke down. 6 months later you have 9/11 carried out by Saudis. It gave a great excuse to invade. All smoke and mirrors. Meanwhile the dependants of 9/11 victims are still trying to get access to the Saudi files which show 9/11 was a Saudi op. Question is was there collusion in same by Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush.
@Gregory Pym: am I correct in saying this was addressed in Michael Moores film about the afghan invasion?
@Gregory Pym: Wow. You would swear you were there or something.
@Gregory Pym: I bet youre antivaxxer also and think the moon landings are fake. Conspiracy theorists like you are whats wrong with society today.
@Gregory Pym: Only flaw with Moores conspiracy theory is that A) America never built this pipeline and B), there was never going to be a pipleline from the the Stans all the way to America.
@Mjhint: no. Lot of sources over the years all freely available in the normal press if you care to look.
@Pauline Gallagher: the labelling of people as conspiracy theorists is what’s wrong in the world today. You’ve engaged in ad hominem and well poisoning there. He’s wrong about Saudi Arabia being directly involved, however the fact is that 9/11 was used as a pretext for invading both Afghanistan and Iraq – the latter had nothing at all to do with it.
@Pauline Gallagher: actually I’ve been jabbed twice. And no I do believe that neil Armstrong walked on the moon. I am not a conspiracy nutter. You should do some independent research. The Bush family were business partners with the Bin Laden clan for many years before the Iraq war. The CIA choose bin laden jr to lead their guerilla war as the mujahadeen against the Russians who had invaded Afghanistan. The mujahadeen morphed into ISIS eventually. The Americans also gave Saddam the technology to manufacture binary chemical weapons to use against Iran in the ten year war between them. Unfortunately Saddam blotted his copy book by invading Kuwait which historically had been part of Iraq .
@Pauline Gallagher: you can always do a bit of reading and come to your own conclusion. So what do you think as a troll
@Gregory Pym: America exports oil and gas bla leftie
@john smith iv: 9/11 was NOT an inside job by the Americans! its a disgusting accusation.
@David Saunders: What, read the theories of some sad loser cra ckpots on the internet? theres more truth in a waterford whispers article.
@Gregory Pym: And who wrote all that? john grisham?
@Pauline Gallagher:
If you’re going to brush away historic facts (such as the Unacol project in Afghanistan, or the US’s cozy relationship with Saudi military intelligence who worked directly with Osama Bin Laden) as “conspiracy theories”, then you have nothing valuable to add.
Yes, sometimes people grasp at straws to come up with mad theories. But if you don’t want to read about the history of US involvement in the middle east, you shouldn’t go around accusing people of being conspiracy theorists just because they know the history. The Taliban was formed from Mujaheddin factions, who the US had been supplying arms to up until the mid 90s.
It’s pretty odd that this force couldn’t have been neutralised by the world’s greatest army and its alliance. I don’t mean defeat Islamist ideology, that’s impossible. I mean specifically the Taliban. So that when the US left the Afghan government would have little to do.
I wonder as well about who is supporting the Taliban financially.
@john smith iv: the Americans financed them when they were fighting the Russians. So I’d hazard a guess
@john smith iv:The US cant defeat the cartels in Mexico either for the same reasons, people are afraid of their brutality. Also the problem fighting mujaheddin is that by fighting them you are actually strengthening their cause, it is a paradox. Afghanistan is the biggest producer of opium in the world, i am sure the Taliban were getting a cut if you were wondering where funding was coming from, plus i am sure the Taliban have allies in certain countries, the Russians have not pulled their embassy from Kabul I have read.
It’s been an absolute mess for a long long time. There’s a reason the Taliban are strong and that’s because they have huge support from people who have been trod all over by foreign invaders for decades. Leaving them to it might actually be for the best in the long run but I feel very sorry for the Afghan forces who have been sold out once again.
It’s a civil war caused by foreign forces meddling in their affairs. Maybe it just has to play out
Have a thought for the masses of young women who are going to have a hellish future under taliban rule, One only needs to search the darker side of the web to see that they are in for a seriously bad time.
@Frank Jasper: its depressing. Taking girls from families as sex slaves for their soldiers. From bloomberg “Now the Taliban are going door-to-door in some areas, compiling lists of women and girls aged between 12 and 45 years for their fighters to forcibly marry. Women are again being told they cannot leave the house without a male escort, they cannot work, study or dress as they please. Schools and colleges are being shut and businesses destroyed. The exodus of those who can afford to flee the country is growing by the day.”
@Chewey Bacca: And yet people complain here about their civil liberties and freedoms taken away. We are a first world society who are unbelievably privileged compared to other parts of the world
@Chewey Bacca: The Taliban are backward religious extremists but thats the religion most of their country men and women follow. Lets have facts, not more fantasy made up by people who never left the house.
This was always going to happen. The Taliban have been biding their time to this point and have struck now as all foreign forces and in particular the USA pull out from the country
@Sinead Merrigan: you should have let them know Sinead.
I heard they’re going to build a light rail system that will be totally free of charge!
@Thomas Harrington: I héard they are bringing in new sugar tax a new plastic bag tax and then the coffee cup levy followed by carbon tax – it’s to a help with the environment ya see because the environment is very important and it seems bombing the place to oblivion for 20 years hasn’t helped – some say its even made it worse – the and so can’t allow rape and pillage and war distract from the climate issue
The fall of Saigon – but a bit more organised this time.
With the American terrorists leaving, the Afghans can finally retake their own country.
The US embassy is moving to Kabul airport. Soon we’ll have pics of US soldiers cramming onto the last helicopters. When will they ever learn?
A lot of settling scores on the way not good
@Mary Paget: but they are are deferring the new carbon taxes for a while so not all bad
Let’s go all the way back to the socialist government supported by the Russians. The good old USA couldn’t stand for that and armed anyone and everyone. The Americans can’t seem to get the message “ we’ll take your arms and money “ but you’re still the great satan and they could be right.
Michael Higgins would have no problem beating talibans. Let him take over. Hail Higgins
@Nicholas O’Halloran: Do you think they would understand his brand of champagne socialism? Would he not be too busy stocking his library with public money?
@Bennett blaster: according to the Washington post the taliban are committed to low taxes on business. And they have reduced import taxes. Micky D is no fan of that carry on.
@Bennett blaster: the best President we have ever had. A true gentleman.
Played the long game. And won. We learn nothing. They have fought off 4 invasions over the past 250 years. Was it worth it? No. Cost over a trillion dollars for the USA alone. Could have rebuilt America with that loot. Kabul will fall in days and Afghanistan will be back in the hands of the Taliban. God help all the poor women and any man who gave assistance to the invaders. A wretched hole.
Horrible situation and terrible scenes .. “Vietstan”
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