As I said in yesterday's blog, Eldest is off to Poland tomorrow, a result of her abilities with language and winning a school competition tied in with the Comenius Project. We're proud of her and her languages, she's doing 4 at lycée: French, Spanish, Italian and, of course, English.Maths, however, is not one of her strengths, nor is its relative, Physics. This is much to my chagrin, as I used to like maths at school, particularly the advanced stuff, calculus, trigonometry, differentials etc, and it was really satisfying to get the right answers and realise how you got there.
As a subject, it has its own language, but that is not a language with which she is at all fluent. The other day she came home with good news and bad news: the good that she'd got 19 out of 20 in an Italian test; the bad that she'd only got 1½ out of 40 in a Maths test. 1½ out of 40! That's only 3.75%. I tried to restrain my horreur, but it was difficult.
Then, I got to thinking about it. She wants to be an actress and/or writer when she grows up, and is in the process of doing a Bac L (Baccaulauréat Litteraire), which will enable her to go on to train to be an interpreter, which is the other 'fall back' option, should she get sufficient marks in the 'L' subjects of languages and geography/history. Her tutor seems to think that she will be able to achieve that, and is not overly concerned about her Maths and Physics results - he says that they all (the teachers) realise that mathematical areas are not her forté, but as long as she keeps trying and showing willing, she will get what she's after.
And, the plain truth of it is, what is the point of knowing how to plot a vector or solve a quadratic equation when you're working in a field that doesn't use or touch on maths at all? She can do basic calculations, knows her times tables and will always be able to find a solution to a mathematical problem, either by using a calculator, or, more likely, by asking someone else. So what is the fuss about maths?
Perhaps the educational establishment thinks that stressing maths (and stressing out kids who are taking it and not doing well) will exercise their brains, thus making them more receptive to other thoughts and ideas; I don't know, but it does, on sensible reflection (difficult for me as a maths-loving parent) seem rather a waste of many people's efforts.
Some people have got it, some haven't, but when it comes to choosing a profession, if you don't speak Maths, you're not going to go for something that needs it. Which, I suppose, is why students are allowed to drop it as a subject when they get to the French equivalent of the Upper Sixth, the appropriately named Terminale. And for Eldest, that year can't come soon enough - only one more school year to wait.
What a talented girl you have. While nothing like as clever as she clearly is, I was also very into languages and literature at school, and completely, hopelessly, awful at maths. I used to seize up in terror in lessons; failed my 'o' level but luckily passed on a retake as you had to have it to stay on to the 6th form. I agree with you that some people's brains are just differently wired.
ReplyDeleteYou know I have been saying exactley the same thing to you for years but did you listen NO !!Who needs maths when you can swear fluently in 4 languages! Ha I say!
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Thank you for voliunbteering ( I know that is spelt wrong but doesn't it look pretty)to get up to take her to the coach in the middle of the night
I love Maths but did find it absurd that in order to get on a teacher training course to teach religious education my friend had to spend two years struggling to pass a maths exam not very relevent to her chosen profession I felt and it would have been a waste of an excellent teacher if she hadn't managed to finally struggle through. What a waste of two years though when she could have been teaching.
ReplyDeleteI still break into a cold sweat when I dream of mathematics exams. I squeaked through what I needed to get into university, but never touched the $#^* math again! Your daughter sounds like a very talented young woman and I look forward to hearing about her Polish adventures.
ReplyDeleteI feel that most people get by perfectly well with Arithmetic(unless their chosen profession dictates otherwise). Your daughter is a very talented young lady, you should be very proud.
ReplyDeleteAgh, I used to loathe Maths, sheer total block on the subject when at school,I was so interested in The Arts & Literature, do not know if this helped as eventually went into career as a nurse, just wished I had stuck to Journalism now, oh, hindsight.My granddaughter has excellent marks for Religion, but she will not be using it later, she wants to be a top lawyer. You have a talented daughter, and yes, who need maths when you speak fluently in four languages.
ReplyDeleteCamilla.
Hi Jackofall - thanks for the reminder re the book. I was one of the people who told shedheaven that I would be ordering her sister's book. I like to support someone's honest and heartfelt effort...so thanks for the tap on the shoulder.
ReplyDeleteObviously from the same mould as the baggy bottomed second son - four languages (and a smattering of Greek), wowed them in the aisles as Alex Strang(?) in Equus but can barely add 2 plus 2..
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