Maths Should Not Be Taught In Schools

Introduction

It is a known truth that maths education is important. It is one of the few developed countries that has no compulsory mathematics in upper secondary education (Hogden et Al, 2010). Throughout the world maths is respected.The content changes from country to country but ultimately most countries cover broadly the same material.

With technology being more and more able to perform mathematical problems it seems that maths may become obsolete, what then does the future hold for the maths curriculum.

At the heart of the debate on maths in curriculum is the very essence of the subject, what is maths? Maths is the study of numbers, it involves statistics, algebra, understanding shape and space. It has links to physics, to sciences.

As many as 45% of employers surveyed want stronger numeracy skills from 14-19 year olds (Grayson 2013). While most employers require a formal mathematics qualification from prospective employees, those that don't often still require the same skill set but prefer to administer their own numeracy test process (Hoyles et al. 2002). The lack of sufficient attainment amongst school leavers emphasises that students may not be taught effectively, or they are not being taught the mathematical skills that are required in employment.

In my opinion there are three main facets to mathematics. Numeracy, the obviously mathematical skills required in day to day life, such as financial skills; skills closely associated and developed by maths, such as problem solving, data analysis and adaptability; and the mathematics required to pass a maths GCSE, for example geometry and algebra. It is the last of these categories that is often asserted as being unnecessary by pupil.

In Making Mathematics Count, Smith (2004) argued the multifaceted importance of

Termed “mathematical resilience”, the ability to persevere with a problem solving has been linked to a higher performance, and can be linked to the growth mindset concept (Dweck, 2006) Although there isn't a definitive process for promoting mathematical resilience, it is an interesting thought that were teachers able to break through the barrier with pupils earlier, and develop the corresponding growth mindset, there might be potential for students to be able to productively take more control over their own mathematical development (Johnston-Wilder et al,