The pencil is a writing utensil where you can erase the
marks you made with the provided eraser.
Math is a subject where trial and error is necessary in mastering the
information. In order to fully understand
a topic, it is necessary to experience mistakes throughout your learning process. Mistakes help teach you the correct way of
going about a certain situation. While
solving a math problem, it is easiest to fix your mistakes, which can occur
frequently, while using a pencil. When I
reflect on when I was growing up and the progression of learning math the first
thing that comes to my mind is making many mistakes. However, I also remember always being told to
use a pencil by my math teachers.
Looking back I can realize that this was for my own convenience. It would have been much more frustrating
learning new material if I was not able to erase something on my paper if I made
a mistake. Throughout my lifetime, I realize
that there has been an evolution of writing utensils which makes learning
easier. There were times when pencils
did not exist and ink was the only way of writing something down. When I think
about this, I first try to recall my experience of learning how to graph
functions, and then try to image doing so without using a pencil but rather
ink. The technology that was used to
create pencils, whether they are wooden or mechanical has helped teaching mathematics. The pencil is a very important tool while
learning math and I do not think anything will be able to replace it. There are many things that a computer is able
to teach a student, but there are also things that need to be written down,
with pencil and paper, in order to be fully understood.
This is completely true for any math class; the pencil is by far the greatest technology. I write everything with pencil and would hate to not have the advantage of erasing my mistakes. As you said, math is a subject where you need trial and error, and it would probably be harder to teach if we did not have pencils. Many mistakes are made in math and if all of them were to just be crossed out it would be a lot harder to refer to the notes. I also agree that there are many things a student could learn on the computer, but with math I personally learn by writing a lot of things and it is a lot simpler to write down math equations on paper than look for all the symbols on the computer.
ReplyDeleteI was also only allowed to use pencil in my math classes growing up. To this day I only use pencil in math because I always erase and redo my work. With pen this is not possible. Over the years the pencil did evolve from wood to mechanical. I prefer mechanical pencils myself.
ReplyDeleteKristin, I agree that the pencil is an essential form of technology, no matter what kind of technological era we are living in. When I was taking math in high school, having the option of trial and error really helped me, and the pencil always gave me that choice to have. Using a pen to attempt to do any of that would not be an option, because I would probably have dark blobs and scribbles all over my work, which would serve as a great distraction for me.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Coming from a music background this is probably the most enforced necessity in a classroom other than math! Erasers attached to writing utensil is genius. I can't imagine a world of only ink, nor can I imagine how early composers wrote all their music, pages and pages, without mistakes. Unless they got really good at rewriting their music, that must have been a headache.
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