Do you all remember the scariest thing in your childhood? The thing you ran away from in school? This of course is not about any horrifying insect or any other that same old horror movies but it has to do something with a subject which we all studied in school. By now I am sure that 80% of you all have guessed it right, Mathematics! The subject which was not less than a nightmare in most of our lives and still is. The numbers playing hide and seek in dreams. The calculus problems seem to fly high above our heads. We all at some point of our lives, I am sure have hated maths. It is a subject which is simplest for some while being difficult to near impossible for some! I will share my story on the same. Like you all, I was also afraid of this subject. I hated it like hell until one day, I fell in love with it.
We always try to look the things as per the people's perspective rather than applying our own brains. But as a child no one knows how exactly the problem can be solved. Maths is such a basic fundamental subject which needs to be incorporated as a compulsory subject because of its application in various other subjects like physics, chemistry, even biology has some aspect of mathematics involved. The crux of the problem lies in the way we study it since the very beginning of the subject. What I have experienced as well as saw at my time that the things were not that difficult as they were made to be look like that.
In the above video, Gaurav Tekriwal talks about the problem which most of us no only here in India but also people in South Africa, UK face this trouble of Mathematics as well. In my case, I was not at all clear with the concepts. The building blocks, the foundation was absent. The moment I knew I had Maths exam next day, I simply avoided studying. I accepted the fact that whatever I do, I am going to fail as far as maths was concerned. It was one day when I realized that because of only one subject, I might put a full stop in my career. So I rolled up my sleeves and went to the best coach. Luckily, he made me understand the most trickiest of the problem in a very simple way. The very next month, I was playing with maths problems. I solved most of them in my mind. I didn't need a notebook to solve the problems. I breathed Mathematics! The hatred seemed to disappear.
Now coming back to the topic, Vedic mathematics is something which should be taught at the very basic level in school itself. The reasons are well mentioned below:
1) Faster calculations 2) Easier to implement 3) Easy to learn
If the students are taught the correct fundamentals at the starting of their learning phase then the building blocks would arrange themselves automatically. Moreover, it helps in making their mind sharper. Maths is something which everyone in their life have to face one day, so why not face it eye to eye?
Now I would like to list out some reasons why people hate mathematics as a subject with some possible solutions which I guess would be best according to me. Here goes the list:
Reason #1: Lack of interest
The ultimate culprit is the interest in a particular subject. The students today are under a heavy burden of books which keeps his mind always over occupied. This leads to distracted focus as well.
Solution: The best solution to this problem is to make the subject look like a cakewalk. Though hard work and time for practice needs to be incorporated in the schedule to crack the exams, but without interest, hard work doesn't go along in the long run.
Reason #2: Lack of proper techniques
The main problem which I have felt in our education system as far as maths is concerned is the use of wrong techniques. Every mind is different and it takes a perception completely opposite to what some other person has understood. Now the main problem lies here that how many students will a single teacher handle?
Solution: The perfect solution as per my knowledge is that the parents should take care of the problem. They are the better judge and they know best for their child. If they give in some extra hours teaching the same ting which the child hasn't understood by a more creative way better than any other way, the things can be sorted out.
Reason #3: The reason to study
We are taught since childhood to study only for exams and not for our self learning. Even if a student is not studying hard, instead of encouraging both the parents as well as teachers have only one ting to say and that is fail ho jaoge (You will fail! )
Solution: Instead of taking a subject especially mathematics, one should keep in mind that this is going to be used in his/her entire life. Then only he/she would study it as a subject of interest instead of treating it as a burden.
Well, there are many more but the main culprits according to me, I have listed them along with solutions above. Vedic mathematics is a beautiful tool which when learnt will always benefit. It should be incorporated in the school syllabus as it is a part of our cultural heritage. Hope some changes are implemented in our system for the betterment of the coming future generations.
This post is written for the Idea Caravan and Indiblogger in association with Franklin Templeton Investments. Do check out the video here. Also it is very much good to know that Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012.
