Without mathematics, there’s nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.
— Shakuntala Devi, Indian writer and mental calculator
Mathematics is a subject that everyone will use at one point or the other, whether we like it or not. It has become the companion of man since the beginning of human existence on earth. When man first wanted to answer questions such as "How many?" he invented math.
The origin of the word "mathematics" in Greek, which means that which is learnt," "what one gets to know," The laws of mathematics govern everything around us, and without a good understanding of them, one can encounter significant problems in life.
Maths plays a vital role in our everyday life for both the young and the old, in matters such as time tracking, driving, reading, cycling, cooking, or jobs such as accounting, finance, banking, engineering, commerce, marketing, etc.
It encourages logical reasoning, critical thinking, creative thinking, abstract thinking, problem-solving ability, and even effective communication skills.
We are formally introduced to the subject from our earliest days in school though learning is mostly theoretical. However, as we grow, we begin to appreciate the mathematical concepts we learnt which will be used all through our life one way or the other.
The importance of mathematics can not be overemphasized. This is the reason why the subject is compulsory for all students from primary to secondary level of education in Nigeria.
Thus, without at least a credit in mathematics, a student will have to resit for exams like WAEC to gain admission to a Nigerian university.
Many surveys done among students has severally proven that mathematics is one of the subjects they find most difficult in school. This is why we must constantly look for ways to improve our maths skills.
One of the easiest ways is to get one of the many good maths tutors from our platform Superprof Nigeria. Whether it is for you or your kids, there is always a tutor at your location that will meet your budgeted fee.
Learning Math Skills From A Tender Age
The mathematical capabilities of children can be recognised from when they open their eyes. A child’s first years are a time of rapid learning. Research tells us that babies have an innate capacity to understand numbers and they usually make sense of their environment by using their sense of sight.
Every parent or guardian who is the first contact at the early stages of a child life plays a key role in developing their numeracy skills.
Many nursery rhymes use numbers in the content of the rhymes, such as “One, two, three, four, five” and “Hot cross buns,” so children practice counting, addition and subtraction while just singing along to the song.
At age one, a child's mathematical skills greatly improve. At this age, they start learning how to talk and walk. Since walking and talking is involved now, they can start reciting poems with numbers and walking toward the item you instruct them to.
Encouraging infants and helping them show interest in numbers is proven to be beneficial. In 1980, paediatrician Hallam Hurt from Philadelphia discovered that children who receive more attention at home have a higher IQ in general.
The use of educational toys is also an interesting way to get your kids to learn fast. Geometry is a major mathematical discipline! By playing educational games and doing puzzles, children improve their spatial awareness and perception skills.
In the beginning, this may be a difficult task for them, but with practice, they will begin to understand how the puzzle works and solve it in no time.
As a parent or guardian fully invested in making sure your child learn fast, it is important to work at your child’s pace and don’t rush them, as this may make them stressed.
Just use all the possible fun approaches to get their attention. Math games are a fun way to practice math skills with kids, so you can incorporate some games such as building blocks, coloured balls counting into their learning schedule.
The Importance Of Maths For Money Management
Many students all over Nigeria breathe a sigh of relief once they graduate, waving farewell to maths lessons. However, the reality is that no one is ever really finished with maths!
The understanding and application of maths will give you an advantage in managing your finances and a better understanding of your money. It’s a simple fact that being good at maths can help when it comes to understanding your income and expenditure.
For every time you use the principle of adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing for absolutely anything in your everyday life, you just applied mathematics.
Math can help balance your budget because you will have a good understanding of how to make sure that your costs are less than the money you have.
People who know math are less likely to go into debt because they know how much money they have, how much money they will make, versus how much money they have spent and are having to spend.
Budgeting is the use of planning to ensure that you live within your means and don’t spend more than you can afford. To do this, you should work out how much money you need for your rent, transportation, feeding, vacations, holiday spending money, and how much you need for clothing, amongst other things that are part of your routines.
It is important to note that if your understanding of mathematics is good and your state of mind is not right, you can still mismanage your finances. You may be brilliant in your maths lessons, however, if you act impulsively, you risk harming the health of your finances. Impulsivity is a psychological issue.
If you don’t know the need or know why you are buying something, then there is a problem. You need to start tackling this issue by first taking ownership of your actions and establishing self-control when it comes to your spending.
Once you have tackled your impulsivity, then it will be easy and beneficial for you to start applying your maths skills to better manage your money.
Maths can also help people control their gambling addictions. Research developed by Dr Fadi Anjoul has been able to reduce their clients' gambling by 80 to 90 per cent by teaching them how the gambling industry works.
Once people understand the mathematics of gambling and the cost it takes to win (that's if you win), the urge to gamble either will stop or they will start gambling right down to a level they want to be doing.
The Importance Of Maths To Kids
Maths is an essential part of the national curriculum and school syllabus in Nigeria. The foundation you set for your child in this subject goes a long way in affecting their future academic performance.
Math is measuring, sorting, building, recognising patterns, making comparisons, and describing the environment, as well as counting and knowing the names of shapes. At the nursery and kindergarten level, children begin to apply what they have learnt at home with other children and individuals outside of their home.
This is the reason why the first why it is said that the first contact of education of a child comes from their parents and guardians.
Mathematics for primary school beginners scheme of work ideally is usually a continuation from the scheme of work for mathematics in Nursery school. By the end of primary school, children should be able to represent numbers and quantities, reason when problem-solving, calculate and communicate about the order of operations and show their working to maths questions.
There are many ways to incorporate math learning into everyday moments for your child such as:
- Getting them involved while cooking and baking. Let them read the instructions, follow the recipes and weigh and measure the ingredients with you. You could make it interactive by asking them questions like I have a cup of 100g of sugar and I need 350g of sugar for the recipe. How many cups of sugar should I use? These sorts of questions will enable them to become familiar with quantities, fractions, temperatures and cooking units.
- Getting an educational tablet for them. Kids love playing on phones and tablets, which is perfect for getting them to play educational games. Several apps online are fun and very educational at the same time. Encourage them to play these educational games which will test their maths skills without them even realising it.
The Importance of Maths In Sports
Maths is a very vital aspect of sports. The world of sport is continually changing and the use of technology is just one of those areas that have made an impact on many sports today. With just a smartphone or an internet-enabled device, anyone can assess tons of sports information, including live scores and game analysis anytime, anywhere.
Technology makes the mathematical calculations and the quantifiable aspects of sports so much easier and faster.
Maths serves as a basis for athletes to constantly measure their performance in their pursuit of perfection. The use of sensors placed on the body, for example, a smartwatch, can measure and track performance in real-time and this information and numbers can help the trainer/coaches determine what aspects each athlete needs to focus on more.
Data collection devices will help both amateurs and professional sportsmen/ women compare and analyse their performance in each of their training sessions. With maths, you can also use these data to get precise statistics on athletes and use them to take informed actions to improve.
Remember that if you need a maths tutor to teach you basic mathematical principles or you need help to improve your maths skills, then you can check from the wide selection of maths tutors on our platform, Superprof NG. Regardless of your location or budget, you will find one that is just right for you on our platform.
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