Some teachers today are not committed

Fri Mar 6, 2015

Editor: There are some interesting debates concerning the failure of many students to pass Mathematics. There is also much concern about this subject and the teaching of this subject.

Changing times and increase in technology in some ways have contributed to many persons not passing this subject. Long ago, there were hardly any persons using calculators and technology to work out maths problems. Thus many persons naturally did their maths by thinking through the problem. Persons used to count rather than use a calculator. People were thinking a lot.{{more}}

Nowadays, people use calculators and other forms of technology to work out calculations and problems. So the power of thinking is missing from many persons. Sometimes a simple addition or subtraction is done by using a calculator rather than naturally counting it out.

Take for example, someone goes to a store and purchases an item. The item may cost $15.50 and the customer may give the cashier $20.50 in order to get a whole five dollars. Believe it or not, many times the cashier would use a calculator in order to know how much money to give back, when a simple subtraction could have given you the amount.

It is felt that teachers need better methods of teaching maths. The lack of proper methods of teaching the subject is blamed for the poor showing in maths passes. While this argument has some weight, we have to realize that some maths teachers may not be good enough in maths. Thus they themselves do not fully understand the subject in order to explain and impart it to the students.

We must however not forget that some teachers today are not as committed as teachers long ago. There are some teachers are only doing it because of the attractive salary but not for the love of the profession. As a result some teachers are not willing to work as hard as they should.

But all in all, the fact is that MATHS in itself is not the easiest of subject and can cause many persons not to love the subject. Thus they build up negativity towards it and so with that kind of mentality it is a recipe for failure.

I would encourage teachers to be committed to the profession and do some research on the subject in order that the subject is fully understood so that it can be taught properly.

Kennard King