Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine The British are uniquely happy to admit being bad at maths, says a report. Why is that and how can attitudes change?
Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine The British are uniquely happy to admit being bad at maths, says a report. Why is that and how can attitudes change?
Imagine a famous television presenter joking that they couldn't read.
Imagine a famous television presenter joking that they couldn't read.
It's an unlikely scenario, such would be their embarrassment, yet no such reservations exist for mathematics, with self-confessed innumerates popping up regularly.
It's an unlikely scenario, such would be their embarrassment, yet no such reservations exist for mathematics, with self-confessed innumerates popping up regularly.
"I've always been rubbish at maths" is usually accompanied by a cheeky grin. The subtext is "I'm no boffin."
"I've always been rubbish at maths" is usually accompanied by a cheeky grin. The subtext is "I'm no boffin."
A report this week by think-tank Reform laments the drop in numbers of people taking maths A-level, at an estimated cost to the economy of £9bn.A generation grew up with Johnny Ball enthusing about numbers
A report this week by think-tank Reform laments the drop in numbers of people taking maths A-level, at an estimated cost to the economy of £9bn.A generation grew up with Johnny Ball enthusing about numbers
"The UK remains one of the few advanced nations where it is socially acceptable, fashionable even, to profess an inability to cope with maths," it says, despite a maths A-level putting on average an extra £10,000 a year on a salary.
"The UK remains one of the few advanced nations where it is socially acceptable, fashionable even, to profess an inability to cope with maths," it says, despite a maths A-level putting on average an extra £10,000 a year on a salary.
Despite - for want of a better word - countless campaigns in recent years, and role models such as Johnny Ball and Carol Vorderman fighting numeracy's corner, people still need to be persuaded about the merits of mathematics. In Korea or China they're really proud of being good at maths because they know the future of their economies depend on it Marcus du SautoyMaths professor and broadcaster
Despite - for want of a better word - countless campaigns in recent years, and role models such as Johnny Ball and Carol Vorderman fighting numeracy's corner, people still need to be persuaded about the merits of mathematics. In Korea or China they're really proud of being good at maths because they know the future of their economies depend on it Marcus du SautoyMaths professor and broadcaster
This can't-do attitude has even afflicted scientists, says Alan Stevens of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and formerly a mathematician at Rolls Royce.
This can't-do attitude has even afflicted scientists, says Alan Stevens of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and formerly a mathematician at Rolls Royce.
"Even engineers sometimes say they're no good at maths. The general public I hear saying it, and particularly journalists on television tend to say it - newsreaders saying they've always been rubbish at it - as if they're proud of it.
"Even engineers sometimes say they're no good at maths. The general public I hear saying it, and particularly journalists on television tend to say it - newsreaders saying they've always been rubbish at it - as if they're proud of it.
"This makes it seem even more acceptable and projects the wrong image, the image that maths is indeed an ivory tower which is dull and boring and of no interest or use to intelligent people. That's the wrong image."
"This makes it seem even more acceptable and projects the wrong image, the image that maths is indeed an ivory tower which is dull and boring and of no interest or use to intelligent people. That's the wrong image."
It's not a recent development because it was the same when he was a teenager, he says, but is more evident on TV now. And while other subjects such as IT may have an equally geeky image at school, that indifference is not carried into adulthood.
It's not a recent development because it was the same when he was a teenager, he says, but is more evident on TV now. And while other subjects such as IT may have an equally geeky image at school, that indifference is not carried into adulthood.
A physics teacher demonstrates long division on the street
A physics teacher demonstrates long division on the street
Marcus du Sautoy, maths professor at Oxford University and presenter of BBC Four's Mind Games, says he can't understand the pride there is in being bad at maths.
Marcus du Sautoy, maths professor at Oxford University and presenter of BBC Four's Mind Games, says he can't understand the pride there is in being bad at maths.
"It's bizarre why people are prepared to admit that because it's an admission that you can't think logically. Maths is more than just arithmetic.Children's television shows try to make maths fun
"It's bizarre why people are prepared to admit that because it's an admission that you can't think logically. Maths is more than just arithmetic.Children's television shows try to make maths fun
"I would rather do business with someone who admits they're good at maths.
"I would rather do business with someone who admits they're good at maths.
"You don't get that in the Far East. In Korea or China they're really proud of being good at maths because they know the future of their economies depend on it, their finances depend on it."
"You don't get that in the Far East. In Korea or China they're really proud of being good at maths because they know the future of their economies depend on it, their finances depend on it."
He ascribes it to cultural factors and a failure of the education system and the media to put the case for valuing maths.
He ascribes it to cultural factors and a failure of the education system and the media to put the case for valuing maths.
"But it's changing. There's a cultural shift in the adult world. There are films featuring maths, such as 21, and Ridley Scott's Numb3rs is doing for maths what CSI did for forensic science. We have very active lessons, very hands-on. No more text books, no more standing at the front Teacher Jonathan Heeley
"But it's changing. There's a cultural shift in the adult world. There are films featuring maths, such as 21, and Ridley Scott's Numb3rs is doing for maths what CSI did for forensic science. We have very active lessons, very hands-on. No more text books, no more standing at the front Teacher Jonathan Heeley
"People say they love doing sudoku, so it's changing but we're fighting a climate of people who have been undersold with maths."
"People say they love doing sudoku, so it's changing but we're fighting a climate of people who have been undersold with maths."
Mobile phones, the internet, Playstations and Google all depend on maths, he says - if people realised that, then they wouldn't poke fun at it so easily.
Mobile phones, the internet, Playstations and Google all depend on maths, he says - if people realised that, then they wouldn't poke fun at it so easily.
Family influence
Family influence
Seven years ago, after publicly bemoaning the fact there were Lord Mayors who proudly said they couldn't do maths, John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders and a former maths teacher, thinks nothing has changed.
Seven years ago John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders and a former maths teacher, publicly bemoaned the fact there were Lord Mayors who proudly said they couldn't do maths.
He believes the problem starts in schools where pupils wrongly believe maths is too difficult.
He thinks nothing has changed since then and believes the problem starts in schools where pupils wrongly believe maths is too difficult.
"I think people see maths in a different light to English language. They see it as being hard but it's no harder than other subjects. This attitude makes teaching maths a more difficult job. WHY SOME CAN'T DO MATHS Some people have a genuine problem learning mathsDyscalculia afflicts between 3% and 6% of the populationIt means people who may excel at other subjects struggle with counting and identifying maths symbols
"I think people see maths in a different light to English language. They see it as being hard but it's no harder than other subjects. This attitude makes teaching maths a more difficult job. WHY SOME CAN'T DO MATHS Some people have a genuine problem learning mathsDyscalculia afflicts between 3% and 6% of the populationIt means people who may excel at other subjects struggle with counting and identifying maths symbols
"You can teach it in a very engaging way but if parents and grandparents say how difficult they found maths, it takes a long time to turn these things around."
"You can teach it in a very engaging way but if parents and grandparents say how difficult they found maths, it takes a long time to turn these things around."
But creative lessons can get results, according to maths teacher Jonathan Heeley, who has won awards for his work with 11 to 16-year-olds at Rawthorpe High School in Huddersfield.
But creative lessons can get results, according to maths teacher Jonathan Heeley, who has won awards for his work with 11 to 16-year-olds at Rawthorpe High School in Huddersfield.
When he began there six years ago, the school was in trouble and there was a culture in which talented pupils preferred to fail for fear of being labelled swots. But in the past three years, he has helped to raise the GCSE pass rate from 12% to nearly 50%.
When he began there six years ago, the school was in trouble and there was a culture in which talented pupils preferred to fail for fear of being labelled swots. But in the past three years, he has helped to raise the GCSE pass rate from 12% to nearly 50%.
"It was about making maths fun and making them learn without realising it and using different ways to engage them. We have very active lessons, very hands-on. No more text books, no more standing at the front. Instead we use creative ways to get them involved."Eminem, an unlikely ally of maths teacher Jonathan Heeley
"It was about making maths fun and making them learn without realising it and using different ways to engage them. We have very active lessons, very hands-on. No more text books, no more standing at the front. Instead we use creative ways to get them involved."Eminem, an unlikely ally of maths teacher Jonathan Heeley
Street culture is employed to teach, so the class raps and sings formulas, uses Eminem to demonstrate pie charts and football league tables for arithmetic. Dice and coins help explain probability and statistics, while pieces of fruit substitute for "x" in algebra.
Street culture is employed to teach, so the class raps and sings formulas, uses Eminem to demonstrate pie charts and football league tables for arithmetic. Dice and coins help explain probability and statistics, while pieces of fruit substitute for "x" in algebra.
He says he has his pupils shouting down the corridors: "I love maths!"
He says he has his pupils shouting down the corridors: "I love maths!"
But pure passion is not going to sway everyone, so there's another possible solution, which is to appeal to their wallets.
But pure passion is not going to sway everyone, so there's another possible solution, which is to appeal to their wallets.
The UK is moving towards a maths economy in which those with numeric skills will prosper, says Elizabeth Truss, one of the authors of the Reform report.
The UK is moving towards a maths economy in which those with numeric skills will prosper, says Elizabeth Truss, one of the authors of the Reform report.
"So much of modern banking is based on maths. In the 1980s it was about doing a deal, now it's about understanding risk. The whole financial services industry is underpinned by very high-level maths."
"So much of modern banking is based on maths. In the 1980s it was about doing a deal, now it's about understanding risk. The whole financial services industry is underpinned by very high-level maths."
So if imaginative teaching doesn't inspire the British to get their sums right, maybe the promise of 10 grand a year will.
So if imaginative teaching doesn't inspire the British to get their sums right, maybe the promise of 10 grand a year will.
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