The Why Question
One of the things that nearly every child thinks or even declares on a regular
basis when told to do math is the why question. “Why do I need to learn math?” “Why is this important?” “Why do I
need to learn more math?”
Now of course this can seem like a silly question whose only purpose is to
shirk responsibility or avoid work. And as adults we know just how important math can be, in our lives or in a
career. But this question asked by most children is an important one to answer, even if it is asked by the student
only as a front for the annoyance of having to apply themselves.
Human beings need a sense of purpose in their lives, a destiny and a sense of
accomplishment over what they have done so far. When math is presented in a unorganized manner, like that discussed
in the essay How memory works; and what math programs like Saxon
Math get wrong, the sense of
accomplishment can be dulled a great deal because once progress is made in one area, rather than building on that,
the student is immediately moved on to another different type of problem, instead of building on what they have
learned by solving that problem.
What Ray's Arithmetic does
differently than other programs is to show not only actual uses for the math learned by giving numerous real world
applications in the many word problems presented, thereby answering the 'why do I need math' question that many
children have, but by sticking to a common problem type for multiple lessons in a row, it gives that sense of
mastery, proficiency, and progression to the student that is so necessary to encourage self motivation.
A great resource for quality educational books for your homeschool
is the Eclectic Education Series, a collection of books which provided
Americans with some of the best educations in the world, before John Dewey and the demise of
American education. Click Here to learn more.
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