Noah

Friday afternoon and my weekend looms large and inviting—like a bowl of English-Toffee ice cream.

Unfortunately, add 10Mathematics5 to the scenario, and a problematical prequel will delay my dessert. Don’t get me wrong, a likeable bunch—just not mathematically motivated.

Following lunch, twenty-eight bodies arrive. A group that fills the room in every way possible. Taller than me to a person, and garrulous: boys lathered in perspiration from touch footy and girls sharing their blueprint for the weekend. Can my charges be enthused to tackle Cartesian Geometry?

A rhetorical question maybe, but the curriculum must be obeyed. Our sixty-minute lesson represents twenty-five per cent of their weekly mathematics and cannot be wasted.

“Are weee eveeer gonna uuuse this maaaths Siiir?” I dread the interrogation that accompanies many lessons.

No probing comments this time, however. No, no, no, not this arvo’.

“Guess what guys?” I begin, “you might never use today’s theory and skills.” The response is stunned silence.

“At last Sir admits the stuff he teaches is useless.”

I do recall lessons likened to launching a bucket of water at an array of sponges—but not PM Friday. Often teaching requires ‘the wisdom of Solomon’, ‘the patience of Job’, and the ingenuity of Noah. If all these are not possible, ‘two out of three ain’t bad’.

My intention in penning this anecdote is to provide an insight into educational challenges. However, so none die wondering, I will enlighten you to the substance of my lesson.

Simplified, this mathematics can be described as a procedure. Discussion ensures my charges recognise that procedures represent a vital component of many occupations. There is, I contend, an inherent value in learning Step A, followed by Step B, C and D. The aim of each student is to memorise these stages, with knowledge of the concepts involved, and implement the process. Our geometry session proceeds.

Did I succeed? Well, most proved proficient at learning and implementing each step. Combined with mental calculations and drawing skills, the time proved productive.

Now, one thing remains—next Friday afternoon.

“I think, therefore I am.” Rene Descartes (1596-1650) French Philosopher, Mathematician, and Inventor of Cartesian Geometry.