Why Mathematics Is Considered Difficult, Though Math is Very Important In Everyday Life?

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For most students, mathematics is a very difficult subject. This is evident from a survey conducted by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) under the Organization Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted in 65 countries in the world in 2012, said that the mathematical ability of students in Indonesia are ranked below with a score 375. Less than 1 percent of Indonesian students have good math skills. This is a very alarming statement for education. ^[1]

But as we know, Math has a very important role in everyday life. A real example in terms of buying and selling transactions are often done by everyone, must use the elements of numeracy that exist in mathematics. By learning mathematics also, indirectly train someone to think rationally and more using logic. Mathematics is also very important in the field of technology and science. However, in fact for the students, most feel lazy, not interested even if they can want to avoid the subject. Why is that?

Here are 10 reasons why math is very scary for the students as reported by www.brilio.net.

• A boring teacher
  Mathematics is a number lesson. If a teacher is only fixated on numbers and raw formulas, then the learning process will feel boring for students. if so, students will be bored, sleepy, and no longer focus on their lessons. Especially when primary school (SD) first, one teacher teach many lessons, one of which mathematics. If the teacher is also less like math, we can be sure the learning atmosphere will feel boring. Though the elementary school is the basic stage to form the foundation of the mindset in looking at a subject.

• mathematics is an exact science, if one digit is false, the other is also wrong
  The rules of the subject of math are very simple, if the answer is not wrong, yes. there is nothing ambiguous in mathematics. Even if you've described it with sophisticated formulas and lengthy explanations, but if your final answer is wrong, then yes it's all wrong. In contrast to other lessons, your answers may be tolerated and considered correct even if there are a number of errors. Language Lessons for example, because of your long answer, you may be able to point even though the answer you provided is actually still far from the right word.

• There is no story, only numbers and numbers
  Most students love to hear stories or just tell stories. Especially if the story is good, surely many people will listen to it. But often math teachers do not add stories while teaching. the result, Math feels boring. Building stories while learning something is a method often used for teaching. Almost all subjects have a story if it can be told. Yet mathematics remains a logical and factual lesson, not all of which contain compelling stories. Especially if taught in early childhood, they will quickly get bored.

• There are many formulas to solve simple problems
  To get the number 15 only, there are many formulas you can use, for example 5x3, 10 + 5, or 18-3. That is, to solve math problems, you can use various formulas to get a common answer. This is what sometimes makes students confused.

• Do not know the functions and correlation with each other
  There is no day without a formula in mathematics that sometimes does not have a relationship with one topic with another. All you need to do is understand the concepts, find the right formula, then solve the problem. In the end, even if you are correct in answering the questions and gaining inner satisfaction, there are questions that may prop it in your mind: Are formulas useful for everyday life? If so, how does it apply?

• Hard to memorize
  In addition to mathematics, almost all lessons have a method of learning with memorization, for example History, Biology, Geography, or English. Another case with mathematics. Even if you have memorized the formulas out of the head, not necessarily the application runs smoothly. Everyday you may have practiced using different types of formulas, but when the test comes, you will not see the same problem. The formula may be the same, but the problem is different. That's math.

• Easy to surrender
  For children who are still young, successfully incised achievement has its own happiness for them. They are not used to failure. When they fail, they will simply give up and will not try again. Similarly, when they learn math. They will lose interest in this lesson when wrong in answering questions. Therefore, it is important to understand that mathematics is not just a matter of calculation, but a mental test for not being desperate.

• Affected hater math talk
  The main reason why many people hate math is because they are influenced by others. Indirectly, your brain will be suspected by negative talk on these subjects.

• Fear of being blamed for doing wrong
  Do not be afraid to do wrong. Maybe you often hear the phrase. But for children, wrong is wrong and they will take it seriously and constantly. If not given the right understanding, children will stop trying when they are afraid of doing wrong, let alone blame.

• Hard to understand
  Understanding basic concepts in mathematics is very important. If you can not understand the concept of basic multiplication or mixed calculation, then you will have difficulty solving advanced problems. Mathematics is considered as a difficult subject one of them because of the lack of basic concept.

That's some of the reasons why most students do not like math lessons. if you want your students to like math lessons you just reverse it with the 10 reasons that I quoted from www.brilio.net.

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Reference :

^{[1] (https://www.kompasiana.com/rahayulala/mengapa-matematika-dianggap-sulit_54f677b4a33311e6048b4d86)
[2] ((https://www.brilio.net/news/10-alasan-kenapa-pelajaran-matematika-dibenci-banyak-orang-151024p.html))}