By now you may have seen the infamous clip, from US news network MSNBC. Presenter Brian Williams and guest Mara Gay, a member of The New York Times editorial board, are discussing the huge sums of money that slosh about in US presidential campaigns, specifically the $500 million (£383 million) spent on advertising by Mike Bloomberg (the amount was, in fact, closer to $550 million).
They express their dismay that, with a population of 327 million in the US, Bloomberg could have given more than $1 million to every individual in the country. A valid point about inequity of opportunity is somewhat undermined by an arithmetical calculation that is more than a little out: the actual figure would be $1.53 (£1.17).
It is astonishing to behold, and a stark reminder of the importance of basic numeracy. Yet, many online responses amounted to, “I’m bad at maths, too - it’s no big deal.”
You just don’t see such blithe disregard for poor literacy. Indeed, being terrible with numbers allows entry to a club where members regale each other with examples of arithmetical ineptitude. That’s certainly the case in Scotland. And such frankness about innumeracy implicitly tells us something bigger: that maths is not held in particularly high regard.
In some countries, it’s a different story. Roshan Doug, a visiting professor at the University of Birmingham, recalls feeling embarrassed at an education conference in Delhi when asked to explain why British pupils “have such a hang-up about arithmetic” (“Being bad at maths shouldn’t be a badge of honour”, 91, 4 January 2019).
That contrasts with a “strong mathematics tradition” in India, where pupils see maths “as a tool for increasing one’s thinking power”. For Indians, Doug writes, “it’s almost impossible to envisage intelligent young minds who don’t have a proficiency in mathematics - it’s a contradiction in terms”.
In December’s report on the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), Scotland once again bumped along somewhere in the middle for maths performance. The score fell sharply between 2003 and 2006 and, as one expert put it, has been “stagnating” ever since.
Cue much gnashing of teeth about what was Scotland’s worst-ever maths score after two decades in Pisa - in the same week that an Education Scotland report scrutinised the quality of maths teaching in a cross-section of nurseries, primaries and secondaries. While “good” overall, it was found to be “too variable and at times weak”.
But there has been good news in recent years: a concerted effort to transform antipathy to the subject through Making Maths Count. In a 2016 report, the group laid out “an ambitious approach to promote maths as an essential skill for every career”.
There was certainly an upbeat mood at the Scottish Mathematical Council’s conference in Stirling last Saturday, after which two school-age guests told me they were taken aback at how “entertaining, exciting and creative” maths could be.
Maths Week Scotland, meanwhile, has quickly become established as a celebration of the subject. And this enthusiasm is embodied by Scotland’s 2018 teacher of the year, Chris Smith - just look up what he does for Pi Day (“How a teacher used a drone to bring maths to life”, 91, 20 March 2019).
At a 91 Scotland event in Edinburgh last week, one guest said: “What is it with maths teachers? They read more blogs, attend more conferences, listen to more podcasts, subscribe to more newsletters and write more books than any other secondary department.”
Maths departments, far from the staid stereotypes of old, are coming up with some of the most vibrant and creative education in Scotland - they just need to keep getting that message out there.
This article originally appeared in the 13 March 2020 issue under the headline “Our perception of maths as unimportant just doesn’t add up”
