A Mathematician's Lament Paul Lockhart Summary

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In “A Mathematician's Lament,” author Paul Lockhart rants about the education of mathematics in America. While much of his essay was full of berzerk statements and assumptions about the feelings students have on math, Lockhart did have some realistic views and agreeable remarks on the education system when it comes to mathematics. Personally, I did not agree with most of the claims that Lockhart made and found them to be particularly extreme and general. I am a math person. I’ve always liked math and done very well in it. I liked the idea that there was always a right answer, unlike in literature classes where most of the grading was subjective. The formulas and step-by-step processes were very enjoyable to me, although I know that wasn’t the case for many of my friends and peers. So when Lockhart described all students as hating math and finding it boring, I stopped taking his claims seriously because I could no longer relate or agree. …show more content…

He described geometry as “the most mentally and emotionally destructive component of the entire K-12 mathematics curriculum.” In my opinion, geometry was very helpful and satisfying; the process of working through problems and proving them to be true was pleasant in my eyes. However, I do agree that the curriculum was made far too complicated for most students to understand right away and for them to enjoy. Luckily for me, I could see through the difficult properties, theorems and definitions, and see the beauty of the mathematical arguments that Lockhart speaks

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