October 15th 2011
my math homework
It is difficult to relate to
It is difficult to relate to
Math is a very abstract subject. For students, learning usually happens best when they can relate it to real life. As math becomes more advanced and challenging, that can be difficult to do. As a result, many students find themselves needing to work harder and practice longer to understand more abstract math concepts. For me, I usually do my math homework to understand more and can apply theory to real situation.
There’s only right and wrong
Unlike a lot of other subjects, there is no room for error when it comes to math. You either understands what you are doing, or not. Because of this, math can quickly become a frustrating and stressful experience for students. Especially, when I do my math homework at home, I don’t know whether it right or wrong. When I can’t find out the error in my solution, it is for me to skip this exercise.
It builds on itself
Math is a cumulative subject—everything builds on what came before. You need to know the basics before you can move on to new topics. If you start to fall behind in one area, it can be very difficult to make sense of advanced concepts you learn without that foundational knowledge. When I do my math homework at home if I don’t know formulas I can ask my friends or my parents, but at school during an exam if I forget something I cannot do the next step. And you know the result already, I can get the low score.
Students expect math to be difficult
This is a usual case of the self-fulfilling prophecy: students expect it to be difficult, so it is. When students go in expecting math to difficult, they are quicker to give up when they don’t understand something. So do I. When I stay at home and do my math homework alone, I meet a complex exercise, it is easy for me to skip it and move on other than try to solve it. A negative mindset like this can quickly lead to a cycle of low confidence, less motivation, and poor performance.
Putting memorization ahead of understanding
For many students, math is a subject where they simply remember concepts and formulas without really understanding them. This may work for a while, but as students progress and encounter more difficult problems, many find that they don’t know how to solve them because they don’t have the problem-solving skills they need to tackle new problems. I am used to study concept by concept and don’t understand the indeed meaning. When I do my math homework I just open the book and try to copy the formulas from that without understanding. As a result when I met a complicated problem at school, I cannot deal with it.
It has a reputation of being “boring”
Math has a reputation of being mixed of difficult and boring. Many students don’t find the interest to learn about math. And when students aren’t excited, they tend to do the bare minimum before moving on to something they’d rather be doing, which isn’t going to help set them up for success in math class. When I do my math homework at home, I usually skip it and turn to other subject when I feel boring. That is so bad.
It requires a lot of practice
Math isn’t something that students automatically “absorb”- takes time and practice to understand math. Since many students don’t enjoy math, it is difficult to make them to sit down and practice to do their math homework. Without that practice, we cannot keep up with the lesson at school. In my opinion, one of the effective way to do practice is do my math homework. It does not only complete deadlines, do my math homework also helps me to understand the indeed problem of the lessons.
Students move on before they’re ready
In many classes, a “C” means you have a satisfactory understanding of the material. And that’s usually enough for you to move on to the next unit or grade level. In math, a “C” means that you are missing fundamental building blocks for success in the future (remember: math is cumulative!). Because math builds on itself, that “C” means that the next unit or class is going to be even harder and you will give up on the further lesson easier.