Reflection - Class SIX

Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky - or the answer is wrong and you have to start over and try again and see how it comes out this time. - Carl Sandburg

Mathematics was my worst subject back in school. I thought it had to do with my uncommon kind of common sense. But I realised as I went through the course that for the most part, my teachers were doing their job/their best, to deliver the lessons and results. And because mathematics spirals up from Primary school to Secondary school, students who couldn't cope with the learning of math actually didn't manage to make sense/connection out of what the teacher had taught. Then, it leads to losing self-esteem thus closing their doors on math eventually.

I finally understood why mathematics is a science of concepts and processes that have a pattern of regularity and logical order. In fact, it is actually just like mastering comprehension skills in attempting comprehension passages. All you have to know is how to infer, analyze and then problem-solve. I really appreciate that Dr. Yeap has enable me to see Mathematics in a new light - like How Big is a Foot actually puts the concept of measurement into simplest form for reading, conserving and understanding.

Are we, as educators, ready to change the world one child at a time, and help them learn mathematics the right way? Are we ready to help them think about problems and solutions rather than by helping them to do it the way we were taught? Are they merely empty cups waiting to be filled with concepts/knowledge without experiencing the whole fun of discovering learning?

My answer:
3 flights of 16 steps
1 flight of 14 steps
The height between each step is about 14.5cm

(3 x 16) + (1 x 14) x 14.5cm
= 48 + 14 x 14.5
= 62 x 14.5cm
= 899cm

Final answer: approximately 899cm.