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Learning Mathematics is school has been compulsory in Kenya. Most other countries including developed also do.
But the beauty of schooling in developed nations is that you do not learn Mathematics forever. At some point, you have to switch to what you love more. In Kenya, you have to do Maths the rest of your education life even when you are pursuing hairdressing in polytechnic. You can’t believe that students pursuing fashion and design have to also do Calculus Maths. Ridiculous!
However, doing Maths is not bad, what’s bad is forcing learners with Maths the rest of their lives in the guise of a belief that the subject is important in life. It’s important but not the Calculus and Algebraic equations we are subjected to in class day in day out
Foundational mathematics is enough and this can be done upto a certain point in school. Not forever. There is nothing like Maths is important in life. Which life? That’s a tired line which I don’t buy anymore.
In fact, a certain study carried out three years ago established that many children around the world and, especially, Africa have been dropping out of school due to Mathematics. Mathematics has discouraged so many students to continue with school.
Someone told a class somewhere that our colonisers introduced Maths in Africa so that to reduce literacy levels in the continent since they knew Africans could compete them in many spheres and, to discourage education for everyone, they had to bring compulsory Mathematics in school. Ignorantly, we fell for this scam.
Sadly, Africa bought this notion and everyone developed the wrong and misleading mentality that Maths must be compulsory.
The Maths we apply out here in our daily lives is not the difficult Maths we are forced to do in school. This nonsense must stop. Let’s stop torturing our kids with too many complex numbers in school and when they come out of school, they have no where to use the numbers. No jobs and no such big salaries. This leads to depression.
In short, basic mathematics is enough. Let’s stop scaring and torturing learners with complex numbers in school when, in real life out here, there is no where to apply the skills of heavy numbers. The mentality that Mathematics is compulsory remains misleading and overrated. Hoax!
