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Medieval Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya has been called the greatest mathematician of his era

His daughter Lilavathi, an equally brilliant mathematician, lost her husband at a very young age. In order to overcome her depression and get her interested in day-to-day activities, Bhaskaracharya asked her to solve simple and complex arithmetic problems based on day-to-day life situations. Eventually, Lilavathi grew to become one of India’s foremost female mathematicians.

This was the theme that students chose to depict at a ‘mathematical dance performance’ at The Millennium School in Dubai, with this year being designated by Unesco as the International Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013 year. It doesn’t stop there. The children also composed a song using the first 31 decimal digits of Pi.

“Mathematics is an important part of everyday life. Be it music, dance, art, movement, and rhythm. It is there everywhere. As mathematics teachers, we are trying to teach children that maths is not just a subject they need to pass,” said the school’s mathematics Head of Department, Susan Koshy.

Koshy added: “Today with the changing system and technique of teaching, the phobia towards math that students have is also slowly ebbing away. We will introduce mathematics concepts in other subjects as well as part of co-curricular activities.”

The school began the yearlong celebrations on Monday. Students from Grades 5 to 12 will be partaking in maths trivia quizzes, special lectures, arts and crafts, and co-curricular studies, which will take place throughout the year. Several hundred students participated in the opening ceremony and a mathematics calendar, designed by a student of the school was also launched.

“There is an age-old fear that most children somehow develop towards learning mathematics. With parental and general societal pressures, children develop an automatic sort of phobia towards maths. Because of (that), maths becomes a student’s least favourite subject. But now with schools introducing practical applications of how maths can be applied in everyday life, that trend is changing. With the educational system itself changing, the approach is becoming a lot more practical,” said Sunitha Johnson, maths teacher of the senior section.

Students presented posters, photographs, skits and presentations on how mathematics applied to everyday activities. “They presented skits on the use of integers in everyday activities like life skills, healthy lifestyles, profit and loss (and) weather studies,” said maths teacher Anu Sony.

The students themselves said the activities presented an opportunity to have fun with the subject.

“I enjoy doing mathematics. It is unlike any other subject. The problems which we have to solve are so much more challenging,” said Grade 6 student Abdussamee Khatib. Another student, Anum Merchant said: “You grow interested in maths gradually. But once you get the hang of it, it can be your favourite subject.”

“It is a wonderful initiative. It has always been a subject that most children dread for no logical reason,” said Michael Guzder, principal of the school. “There is a general pressure from society on children to perform well in mathematics, because as adults grow older, they realise how important maths is and then they place this pressure on the kids.” Guzder added that such initiatives would encourage children to enjoy the subject. “It will change the mindset in schools and among students and help them lose fear of the subject.”