Why Do I Have to Learn That?

I recently looked at various college math materials, and they reminded me why so many students hate math. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought math was a meaningless set of rules I had to memorize—a subject designed to give me a headache.

However, nothing could be further from the truth! While math does have a lot of rules, there’s a purpose to it! Those rules help us describe and explore God’s creation.

As one example, consider the branching pattern of trees. Did you know that math helps us describe it? Well, it does! Fractal geometry helps us describe the branching pattern of trees, as well as many other aspects of God’s creation. (To learn more, check out the blog post I recently wrote about fractal geometry and trees over on the Creation Club website.)

Many students grow up thinking they hate math because they’ve never really been taught what math is. They’ve not seen it as a practical tool that helps us explore God’s creation and complete the tasks He’s given us to do.

If you have a student(s) that dislike math, try stepping back from the mechanics for a bit and showing math in action. Help them understand why what they’re learning matters. If you need some ideas, check out the sample pages from Revealing Arithmetic, Principles of Mathematics 1, and Principles of Mathematics 2. While the samples are designed to give you a flavor for the materials, some of the ideas can be used on their own with students even if you don’t purchase the materials.

Along those lines, here’s a simple challenge: make a list this week with your student(s) of all the ways you see math used (including simple ways, such as the numbers on a clock or microwave). You both might be surprised.

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Need help teaching students math with a purpose?
Check out the Principles of Mathematics curriculum!

We just started using Principles of Mathematics 1 with our 7th grader. This particular 7th grades despises math. The previous years have been filled with tears, frustration and always asking the question “why do we need math?”. After hours and hours of searching, I found Masterbooks and Principles of Mathematics. I picked it because IT EXPLAINS WHY WE DO MATH!!! YAY!!! Our 7th grader was skeptical at first but after just a couple days he CHOSE to switch from the year schedule to the accelerated schedule. Woo Hoo! He enjoys doing math. So thankful!