Make Maths your Valentine — Prof. Anku advises students
The President of the Ghana Mathematics Society (GMS), Professor Sitsofe E. Anku, has called on students across the country to make this Saturday, February 14, which is a Valentine’s Day, a special day for the study of Mathematics.
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According to Dr Anku, students should use the day to show their love for Mathematics by doing some practical activities rather than engaging in acts that would not benefit them in life.
Valentine's Day is a time that most people exhibit their love and affection to friends, relations and loved ones all over the world.
On Valentine’s Day, Prof. Anku said, students should spend time practising Mathematics since it was very easy and could be done by everybody.
He said it was sad that every year, a large number of students failed Mathematics although the subject was easy once students paid more attention to it and teachers made it more enjoyable.
Prof. Anku blamed the situation on teachers, students, Mathematics textbooks and the curricula that were used at the various levels of the educational system.
“The principles and methods of Mathematics ensure the efficiency of the things we do. The studying of Mathematics should be fun,” he pointed out, and underscored the need for more “practical Mathematics to make students not only study to understand concepts but make them see the relevance of the concepts to real life situations”.
Hands on activities, he said, were very key in the study of Mathematics and indicated that most people were having problems because the study of the subject in the classroom was not being connected to real life situations.
Prof. Anku said the study of Mathematics needed to be taken seriously and cited the situation in the United Kingdom where pupils were expected to know up to the 12 times table by the time they left primary school.
In addition to that, pupils aged 11 should know correct punctuations, spelling of some key words and have a good foundation in grammar.
“You need the English Language to understand Mathematics... but we are neglecting a lot of these things,” Prof. Anku said.
The GMS has declared February 14 of every year a National Mathematics Day to promote the study of Mathematics.
This year’s event would be marked at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.
“We shall deliberate on how to relate Mathematics in the classroom to every day life activities,” the GMS President said.
