From the moment we are conceived, math starts happening (a zygote divides in order to multiply), and it never stops. Every system in our body can be discussed in numerical terms (blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, pH balance, etc.). Every art and science that we use is based on math. The truth is, any and everything that we know of can be expressed in numerical and mathematical language. Math is the functionality behind all the phenomena in our world, seen and unseen. It is quite possibly the most empowering knowledge that a person or group can acquire.
The English word mathematics comes from the Greek phrase “ta mathemata,” which is an expression that translates to “what can be taught;” it essentially means we can only learn what we already know. An analogy to help understand what that means is to think about our ability to hear. Our ears can only hear in a certain decibel range, even though other species can hear higher or lower frequencies. Within our range, we can differentiate between a myriad of consonant and vowel sounds, as well as animal sounds, earth sounds, and sounds of different materials interacting with each other. It takes a while for us to categorize and understand the sounds we hear, however the capability to hear them is there from our beginning. Anything that is out of our range will simply not be heard. We can create devices to detect sounds outside of our hearing ability, but we can’t make our ears do what they weren’t created to do. To put it really simply, no matter what you feed a plant, it won’t grow wings. It can only achieve what was already in the seed before it sprouted. When we were a tiny zygote in mother’s uterus, all the instructions for hair, bone, skin, nerves, etc. were inside of that one cell. If there’s no info in there for shells, or horns, or gills, then there’s no way to teach a person to grow those. There is ancestral information in every drop of DNA, so everything that you can learn is really just something that you’re remembering. The idea behind “what can be taught” is a process of self-discovery, not one of receiving information externally. The external lessons are there to stimulate an internal reflection. With this in mind, math is the perfect tool of validation for everyone who ever knew from within they had a purpose.
The way that many people experience math in school and in the home leads them to not understanding math in general, and not enjoying it at all. The Maathematic approach not only makes math concepts easier to grasp, it does so in a way that is intuitive and enjoyable. The only way to understand advanced concepts is to build on simpler ones. In my work as an educator, I have found that all of the students who struggled with math did so because they missed a few basic steps along the way, not because they weren’t good at math. It’s like a ladder that’s missing a few rungs, so you don’t know how to get to the higher aspects. It’s the same idea as in reading. If you learn the alphabet, but not the individual sounds that the letters make, then you won’t be able to read later. Even after learning individual sounds, you also learn compound sounds (e.g. ch, sh, th), and rules for when letters interact. After that you learn the rules of grammar that make sentences work. It’s the exact same way in math. In that sense, you should be able to read math, the same way you read words; the goal is to visualize/experience it in your mind.
Math is built into us, and is reflected in the world around us. Our ability to perceive patterns, rhythm, vibes, quantity, quality, size, and much more, is all our 6th sense, math. When teaching children about numbers, it should be as games, music, and movement, not worksheets. Math has to be experienced for it to be learned and properly understood, not just memorized. Memorizing a list of names is not the same as getting to know those people. Math is all about relationships, so the best way to learn it is to build a relationship with it!
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