Your 10-year-old kid does not have to be a mathematical genius to answer that..
Yet things can be different if youre in Maharashtra. There is every chance that your child, your angel, may come up with some fancy answer which may send your blood pressure soaring to new heights.
Yes, it is true. Kids in Maharashtra just don’t like maths. According to the Annual Status of Education Report by Pratham, only about 30 per cent of students from Standard VI to Standard VII can carry out division. And not even 60 per cent from Standard III to V can subtract.
It’s absolutely alarming to say the least. With the state focusing on education for all and spending huge money on infrastructure, it seems that it all adds up to a big zero. It seems abundantly clear that something is wrong somewhere.
It must be admitted though that maths is not a very appealing subject to most kids, unless they have a bent for it. It’s the one subject which is met with lots of ‘oohs and ahs’ .
Every reason – from stomach ache to subtle yawns to ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ is thrown to stay away from the subject.
“I hate maths,” says Sara Mehta, aged 11. “I used to like it at one time but now it’s different.”
A bright child, Sara sees maths as something she now has to do to keep up her top position in class.
“Many students don’t like the maths class. They find it boring.
“Some of the students play pranks during the period or some even take a nap.”
Her friends Isha and Yash also feel the same. They too do it for the marks.
Sara’s sister Samia, aged seven, on the other hand, likes maths.
“I like to get good marks and make my parents happy,” she says. But she may think differently like her sister as she grows up.
Arnav Gaikwad, 10, just loves maths. He always scores good marks and this drives him to do well every time. So is it the teacher who is not doing his/her job or is it the lack of appeal of a knotty subject?
It could be a bit of both.
Arnav’s mother Manjri Gaikwad is a teacher by profession. She feels that the teacher today is overburdened by other activities in school, to really pay full attention to students.
“They have so many things to do. They have to co-ordinate extra-curricular activities, attend seminars and monitor the class etc.”, “They end up devoting only 60 per cent of time to their subject.
The rest should also be spent on understanding students and improving their maths,” she adds.
“Twenty-five years ago, teachers tried to understand the psychology of a student. They had more time and patience. They tried to help the students.
“Today there are more students in the class and less time for the teacher.”
Sara and Samia’s mother, Aiman Mehta, feel the same.
‘We learnt maths in a different way. It was far simpler. Today,they complicate the issue before they can get to the answer.
“We got to B from A. Now they get to B via X, Y, T, from A.”
“I find it difficult to take up their maths. I let them get to the answer and then I check if it is correct, my way,” she adds.
Ms Gaikwad concurs.
“The teachers are more bothered about the steps to get to the answer than the answer itself.”
So a solution has to be found to get young minds to grapple with the additions and the subtractions with interest. Think simple, may be.
The answer certainly won’t be found in the state government directive asking teachers to take selfies with students to ensure attendance.
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