Karl Fisch's Best of the FischBowl February 2007 post, titled "A Formula for Success?", expresses his concern for the way mathematics is taught in schools today. Being a secondary education/math major, I found this post expresses my feelings about teaching mathematics. Math is often taught by giving a formula and then plugging in values. Oftentimes, there is no instruction on why the formula is what it is instead, students are told that it is what it is just because. They are given no explanation as to why and how the formula came to be. This method is not acceptable.
To truly understand math you need to understand the why and how of mathematical applications. You also need to understand and realize how those mathematical applications apply to real life situations. For example, when learning percentages will be used later in life for determining sale prices or determining what percentage of their salary will be deducted for taxes. Giving students examples of real life situations involving math may help them to understand how important it is to understand mathematical processes.
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