I knew I would read all kinds of books and try to get at what it is that makes good writers good. But I made no promises that I would write books a lot of people would like to read.
Carl SandburgRead
Mathematics is the art of explanation. If you deny students the opportunity to engage in this activity-- to pose their own problems, to make their own conjectures and discoveries, to be wrong, to be creatively frustrated, to have an inspiration, and to cobble together their own explanations and proofs-- you deny them mathematics itself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of active engagement in learning mathematics.
Paul Lockhart's quote illustrates that mathematics is not merely about finding correct answers, but about exploring concepts, posing questions, and discovering personal understandings. He insists that denying students the chance to engage creatively and make mistakes prevents them from truly experiencing the essence of mathematics, which is fundamentally an art form of explanation and reasoning.
Themes
MathematicsEducationLearningCreativityEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used at the beginning of a mathematics workshop to inspire educators.
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