I think it’s a topic that just doesn’t interests most people, especially children. Where I live, solving problems like 10 - x = 4, solve forx is taught to 10 year olds in grade 5. How many 10 year olds would think this is interesting?
In comparison, grade 5 science teaches cells are the building block of life, energy can exist in forms like electrical and light and can transform between them, and matter has states like solid, liquid, and gas. It’s stuff that ends up being naturally more interesting.
I think it’s a topic that just doesn’t interests most people, especially children. Where I live, solving problems like
10 - x = 4, solve for xis taught to 10 year olds in grade 5. How many 10 year olds would think this is interesting?In comparison, grade 5 science teaches cells are the building block of life, energy can exist in forms like electrical and light and can transform between them, and matter has states like solid, liquid, and gas. It’s stuff that ends up being naturally more interesting.
It helps when you reframe math as a puzzle, because then it becomes a game. It’s not interesting unless you make it interesting.
“New Math” kind of tries to do this, although then you run into the problem of parents being unable to help their kids with homework.