Page 4 - Professorial Lecture - Prof Kasanda

course. Consequently, a good performance in mathematics is
important.

These views of Mathematics and mathematics education point to
mathematics’ importance in enabling us cope with our environment and in
performing our daily chores as indicated in the quotation above.
Mathematics cannot be avoided in all our daily activities.

The questions that we need to ask are; if Mathematics is that important
why do we have so much apathy towards its study in our schools or
tertiary institutions? Why do so many learners and students avoid the
study of Mathematics? A variety of reasons are often provided. Indeed,
when one engages students and Mathematics teachers in conversation
regarding the place and importance of Mathematics in the school
curriculum and whether we should make the study of Mathematics
compulsory for all students, a number of responses such as the following
are given: “Not all students are capable of grasping the mathematics
content, let alone the complex concepts”, “Mathematics should be taught
to only those learners and students who have the aptitude for learning
and understanding mathematics”. “Not all students display a
mathematical bend”. It should be pointed out that these views are not
typical to the Namibian situation alone. The Guardian (2007) notes that in
the UK mathematics is viewed as a subject “for geeks, nerds and misfits;
the rest of us get by on a wing, a prayer and a calculator”. The same point
of view is probably true in our own situation. Is mathematics really for all
learners or for “geeks, nerds and misfits”?

These questions and many other issues related to the teaching and
learning of mathematics in our schools will be addressed in this inaugural
lecture. It is important to start this presentation with a historical
development of mathematics and the nature of mathematical knowledge.

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