Is learning math dangerous?

I have been a Math major since childhood, participated in many Math competitions, graduated from the University of Mathematics Education with honors, got a Master's degree in Mathematics, did research in France, taught Mathematics for many years, then quit my teaching job, jumped into the corporate environment to gain experience, worked for 5 years for foreign companies (Australia, Singapore), over 1 year of research on American and Singaporean education, worked for a Singaporean corporation and am currently teaching Math and English at night to students from grades 1 to 10.

I thought and pondered a lot and today decided to write this article about teaching and learning Math in Vietnam, comparing it with teaching and learning Math in the US and Singapore, two world powers in Education and Economy.

The article is presented in a debate format and reflects only my personal views:

On December 9, 2018, on the occasion of the Vietnam Mathematics Festival held in Saigon, Saigon University organized a seminar with the topic: What is the purpose of learning mathematics?, in which my respected and leading teachers shared about Vietnamese Mathematics.

Reading through the teachers' shares, after more than half a lifetime of doing Math, the teachers themselves are still struggling with the story: Math is wonderful, very important, the teachers are very passionate about Math, but how can we encourage everyone else to be passionate about Math like them?

This is a common question for all those who love Math and are teaching Math. Most of these people (including me) and even the teachers above are kicking the ball (or blaming) on ​​the learners (students) that learners lack awareness of Math, of the importance of Math, so they lack passion for learning Math, so they do not have Math as a tool to support all activities of life.

Meanwhile, have those who do and teach Mathematics ever asked themselves: "Is what we call Mathematics attractive, is it beneficial to real life, does it help learners create value for the community and earn money in return? Or is it simply something for us to enjoy ourselves? Is there something wrong with the content of Mathematics that we are researching and teaching? Or do we think that Mathematics today is like a beautiful flower, and that it is the responsibility of learners to discover the beauty of that flower to smell and admire?

To answer this question, I will present the process of forming mathematical content and problems, the most important thing that creates attraction or aversion in the hearts of learners towards Mathematics.

TEACHING AND LEARNING MATHEMATICS IN THE USA AND SINGAPORE

In the US and Singapore, in recent decades, the formation of Math content, Math problems and the way of teaching and learning Math follows a 4-step process:

Step 1: Observe real-life situations and identify problems that need to be solved.

Step 2: Find a mathematical model that represents the nature of that real-world problem.

Step 3: Solve the above Mathematical model and find the answer.

Step 4: Apply the results obtained to real-life situations to solve problems.

All math content, all math problems from grade 1 to grade 12 and even university are developed according to the 4-step process above.

So every Math problem is stated as a real-life situation (they call it a word problem) and it doesn't look like Math at all.

Children learning these types of problems of course still have to practice solving math problems, but there are two more important skills: 1- the ability to find a suitable mathematical model to apply to a real-life problem situation and 2:- the ability to apply the results obtained to solve real-life problems.

These types of math problems are very attractive and stimulating to learners, they attract learners like a magnet.

Thus, American/Singaporean children learn Math to essentially practice problem-solving skills in practice, as their educational materials often write: to solve real-world problems.

In the US STEM (Science - Technology - Engineering - Mathematics Education) Strategy approved by the President in December 2018, one of the four pathways outlined is "Inspiring and Encouraging Learners by Focusing on Complex Real-World Problems and Challenges that Require Initiative and Creativity".

This strategy also raises the issue of turning Mathematics into a Magnet by turning Mathematics into a modeling tool for the real world, teaching and learning Mathematics through experience, through meaningful real-life situations, and applying them in daily life.

TEACHING AND LEARNING MATHEMATICS IN VIETNAM

Going back to the 4-step process of forming a problem above, how are we doing in Vietnam?

We cut off the head and tail, keeping only the middle 2 steps: 2 and 3. Make up a problem and ask students to solve it to get the result. Period.

Mathematicians and math teachers try their best to sit within four walls, in air-conditioned rooms, based on the available math problems in various books, then find ways to add or subtract hypotheses, conclusions, and fabricate countless different math problems with increasing difficulty to challenge and puzzle their students through a series of exams such as: oral questions, 15-minute tests, 1-period tests, semester tests, year-end tests, excellent students, national high school exams, etc.

We call those things Mathematics, think that it is as beautiful as a flower and require students to love it, be passionate about it, learn it and find ways to solve them. If students do not love it, we blame them for not having the will to learn and being lazy.

Meanwhile, those invented problems are not used to model any problematic situations in the vibrant real life. How can such dry, empty, theoretical problems attract learners?

We turn our kids into pure theoretical math solvers. They are good at solving problems, but they don’t know how to use those skills and don’t create much value for the community.

Many of my teachers and classmates in the past and present, mathematicians, doctors of mathematics, and math teachers, with their knowledge and skills, did not create much value for the community, so they did not receive much money, leading to old age without much property or money, or having to do countless jobs outside of their major to make a living and get rich.

If we continue like this, we will not only harm generations of students but also harm our own children, the children we gave birth to and raised in our own homes.

Children who are stuffed with that purely theoretical fabricated Mathematics (including myself) are obsessed with absolute correct thinking, everything requires strict logic, so they lack acceptance of multi-dimensional opinions, lack acceptance of people who live by emotions, lack reason and logic.

These children like to reason, like to debate, like to win or lose, but forget that love for fellow human beings, animals, and plants is above all those reasons, debates, wins and losses.

Creating value for the community is the noble purpose of human life, not winning or losing in arguments.

After reading this article, some people asked me: What am I doing practically with Mathematics in Vietnam? I would like to answer that: I am teaching hundreds of students, they come to me with only pencils + erasers, no notebooks, no notes, no homework and they come to study only because they like it and are passionate about it. The Mathematics and the way they do it is really a magnet that attracts them to Mathematics.

Recently, the Ministry of Education and Training announced the new General Education Program. I have read it carefully, but in Math alone, there is still no breakthrough. It is still the old way of thinking, still the purely theoretical Math made up in a cold room.

We can still win prizes at the International Mathematical Olympiads, but we will continue to be left behind by the US/Singapore on the path of Creating Value, the path of Changing the World to become more prosperous and richer.