Why isn't basic etymology taught in English class, and why is math history ignored?

This is one of my biggest issues with my education.

In English, kids will gripe about some stuff doesn't makes sense, why some words don't follow rules, why phrases exist, and just laugh at the general chaotic nature of English as a language. But as soon as you start talking about etymology and explaining the reasoning behind why things are the way they are, where it came from, and how it evolved, suddenly everything makes sense. Adding an etymological context to any amount of English information is a super easy thing to do, can be done within seconds, so it's not like it's actually taking time out of any other curriculum

My other gripe, however, might would take more time, however I believe it would increase math literacy exponentially.

I remember how often class would start and the teacher would just write a formula on the board and THATS THE WHOLE FUCKING LESSON. That. Just the formula.

So of course students are going to moan and groan about what it's even for, yeah. Because there's no fucking context. What the hell does this do?

If all you teach is the formula and not where it came from, why its important, what it can be used for, what the context is, you're not even really teaching the formula.

I excelled greatly at math over my peers, especially things that are grounded in a specific context, like geometry, chemistry, and physics. I was in AP physics and AP chemistry (which can be math heavy sometimes). In these classes they usually teach the history surrounding things that are significant, the problem at hand when it was developed, and what it's actually being used for.

In the generic math classes and algebra, they just write formulas on the board and threaten to write students up for asking why they need to know it. Like, how many people do you know personally that know that algebra evolved from an Arabic word, and that we use Arabic origin numerals? This seems like such a basic and fundamental thing to point out that just never gets taught.

I make this complaint because as the math they teach in school gets more and more complex at younger ages, they're going to hit a wall with potential education if they cut more and more context.

Submitted July 14, 2024 at 09:39AM by IIlIllIlllIlIII https://ift.tt/x5CX0Rh