Do you hear a lot of grumbling in your home when high schools kids struggle with geometry proofs and can’t see the point?
Are geometry proofs really necessary? Do they have a purpose other than passing the math test and doing well on standardized tests? Is this a life skill your kids will use?
Unless your child majors in math, it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever need to the specific skill required in completing geometry proofs. And chances are he’ll soon forget how to do them.
So what’s the point? Why do we make kids go through this ordeal?
Learning to do geometry proofs is a brain-boosting activity that helps improve children’s brain function, often permanently. In other words, the thinking skills used in doing geometry proofs are important thinking skills your child will use in other academic classes . . . and life in general.
Doing geometry proofs requires the brain to operate in new and complex ways, forming and reinforcing complex brain connections. Once developed, these neural connections remain, ready to “jump into action” in real-life situations, long after how-to-do-geometry-proofs has faded into mental oblivion.
Brain patterns developed by doing geometry proofs include three essential skills.
Organization: Doing proofs requires organization, forcing the brain to cultivate and improve neural paths in the executive function area. This involves sorting the given information, making diagrams, labeling, and keeping track of the progress throughout the task. Until they’re doing geometry proofs, your kids probably haven’t done any activity that requires such complex organizing skills.
Logical thinking: Doing proofs requires logical thinking, a mental process that is rarely well developed in the younger high school students. The act of doing proofs provides your child with a great opportunity to develop, or improve upon, this valuable higher order thinking process.
Self-discipline: The mental and physical tasks required when doing proofs are unnatural, tedious, and difficult for many students. Now they’re being asked to make diagrams from sentences and symbols, and to plan, carry out and coordinate all the required activities. As a result, your kids tend to develop greater self-discipline.
So doing geometry proofs isn’t just for passing tests. It’s good for the brain. Doing proofs help make young brains better, often permanently better. In fact, math in general is good for the brain.
Please leave a comment about geometry proofs or math in general. We love to hear from you.
geometry proofs are not needed. the only answer I’ve ever gotten for “why do we need to learn this?” to geometry proofs is “because for when you’re a teacher, you can teach it.”
don’t kid yourself that it helps the brain, all it did for anyone in my class, and anyone who I’ve ever talked to about proofs is get them frustrated and annoyed that we have to do such pointless work.
The problem is, many kids have trouble accepting that their brains are still developing. They think their brains are perfect the way they are. They are not correct.
It is hard to believe, but it is true. Until 30 years old and even beyond, the well cultivated brain becomes better and better.
I agree that school subjects appear to be useless, but learning them stimulates brain development. The more variety, and the more complex, the more brain connections. Math develops the brain one way, science another, foreign language another, and so forth.
Unfortunately, many teachers act as if their subjects are the end-all. Some even skirt the issue and say, as you describe, learn it because “I am the teacher.” The truth is, and you’ll surely agree, kids will forget the details very quickly. But, don’t stop reading here.
By learning school subjects, not just cramming and getting by, but by really learning the material, the brain becomes “wired” better. And it stays that way, forever, ready to jump into action when needed. And, please believe me, it will be needed.
Being able to think well is good! And a well developed brain is a treasure that remains so long after CPCTC has faded from memory.
I see the point you are trying to make here, but why such a bizarre technique? If they want to tease our brain why not just do it with less complex EVERY DAY problems. Not “Why is this equal to this?” even though we all know it to be true and not needing to be proved?
Geometry proofs are NOT neccessary, there are dozens of ways and activities that “boost” the brain in several different matter. Proving that triangle ABC is congruent to triangle DEF is pointless. Why not do problems that boost the brain everyday a little bit, instead of huge gallops through proofs that just make everyone angry? Why not learn in a double fashion meaning that they will both use the skill and it boosts brain power?
is there even medical evidence to suggest this activity boosts the teenage brain more than any other geometric related activity?
OK Linda, I'm a 50 year old PhD student. I hated geometry when I was in high school, and HATE it now as I review math in prep for a graduate level stats course. I'm a medical professional that has well-developed cognitive function. I can truly say that after a half-century of life geometry is useless. I'd love to see the research that supports your contention that geometry forms those magical synapses in the brain. I'd rather use some Dopamine. Geometry and those that support it can go pound sand. I'm just glad that Mr. Oliver, the useless geometry teacher from 1976, is probably dead by now….good riddance.
Positively no connection. Notice how no 'math' was used to answer the question. Just a selling point. Really? How to prove that a right angle is perpendicular to a straight edge? Like inventing a new thought process? It's sickening if it weren't so lame. Why geometry isn't being taught at all!
Positively no connection. Notice how no 'math' was used to answer the question. Just a selling point. Really? How to prove that a right angle is perpendicular to a straight edge? Like inventing a new thought process? It's sickening if it weren't so lame. Why geometry isn't being taught at all!
im a sophmore. i hate geometry. it's fifty five minutes of torture.
a prooof is nt logical thinking, there is different logic for different things like i can say programming is logical thinking and a geometry teacher that logically thinks wouldnt b able to figure it out. there is different logic in different things in order to do proofs u need to know the math reasons on why the peices are s=cingruent or similar, its un neccessary now in programming u need to know the code which is logical thinking for that there is a big difference. proofs r an extreme waste of time because they rlly have nothing to do w/ math. people can learn organization and self discipline doing other tasks. proofs u need to know the reason to prove ur statement true and u will never use these reason ever again in ur life, if u can actually think of a decent argument please e mail me
[This comment answers the other comments with which this commenter strongly disagrees.]
… Mathematical reasoning skills are vital for modern living. To Nate… computer science is based on discrete mathematics, which, you guessed it, is based on proofs.
Being able to logically reason through geometric proofs is a very useful skill. Being able to take two ideas, and equate them is vital to modern life. Geometric proofs help create a structure of logical equivalence in your head that applies unilaterally to almost any situation.
Outside of all the practical applications of proofs, quite frankly I think that you need to consider that the only thing that pushes us forward as a society is scientific discovery, which requires an educated population. Even if you’re not going to be a scientist you need to be able to understand basic coloration/causation differences and the one-way properties of the logical implication operator, and a multitude of other skills taught by hated geometric proofs.
Yeah, having to think to complete your homework, inside your nice home in your nice first world country, built and provided to you by the ‘evil’ engineers who thought it was important to teach thinking skills, is difficult. Get over it.
GEOMETRY IS STUPID! we are NEVER going to need to know geometry proofs!!! you DON’T open a child’s mind for life with proofs!
there’s no such thing as teaching useless things in school to “open a child’s mind” because it doesn’t work!
all it does is make kids go to school twice as long as what they would normally have to if they could just learn stuff they actually need to know! i’m a sophomore (10th grd) and i’m in geometry and i know that i will NEVER use ANY of this! my dad builds houses and etc. and he doesn’t use geometry! he uses inches for measuring! that’s all! he doesn’t know that vertical angles are equal and what 4x-3=23x+9 and all that mumbo jumbo for figuring out a proof! he uses common sense! in fact, my mom was a banker and both my parents NEVER even took PRE-algebra in high school! if you need to know how much liquid to pour in a container with a circumfrence of 7 and a height if 9, then instead of doing that math, just fill up the container until it’s full! DUH!!!!! why do you have to make everything so hard on yourself and people! just do things with what you were born with…..common sense and you’ll be perfectly fine! if you are going into some weird math major then learn math in college! don’t make EVERYONE learn it for the less than 1 percent who will ever need to know it!!!!!!!!!!! that’s what college is for isn’t it???!!!!!
Jessica,
I hope your parents don’t read what you just wrote.
I think your father would take offense to your statement that he doesn’t know geometry. I’ll agree he probably doesn’t use proofs, but he regularly uses geometry – and you’ll likely do so as well.
Inches are part of geometry. I bet your dad knows and uses the 3, 4, 5 rule. If you’re building a square or rectangle and you need to make sure that you’ve created a right angle (so books don’t slide off your shelves), you can use this simple geometry rule.
Measure 3 inches down one piece of wood and draw a dot. Measure 4 inches down the other piece of wood and draw a dot. Then using your tape measure make sure the two dots are 5 inches apart – and the ends of the wood come together at the corner. Now you have a right angle – and you can finish building your house, shelves, picture frame, etc. . .
He knows that vertical angles are equal because he builds roofs. The back has to have the same angle as the front.
He cuts molding so he understands how to cut and measure angles, how to calculate square footage and much, much more.
If you spoke only of geometry proofs, I’d have agreed. But your parents use geometry, ratios, and algebra more than you know.
Hi, I’m a freshman, and like most geometry students i dislike proofs greatly. My teacher is making my class write an essay (yes, in geometry i have to write an essay) about the benefits of them and why they are put into the curriculum. But now, looking over my research i am starting to realize their importance. Still, I’m sure Euclidean geometry could of adapted to some other method of building organization, logical thinking and self-discipline besides PROOFS!
I’m a Sophomore and all I can say is that proofs suck. Waste of my time and all the engineers and stuff mentioned above can better society while I’m getting rich on math that makes the world go round. Thats right, making money in the stock market. So when I am done with geometry it can burn in hell for all I care. End of my rant.
I am of the general opinion that Geometry proofs are not necessary. I have a degree in Engineering and a Master’s degree in liberal arts.
there are many other ways to exercise and train the brain without using geometry proofs, including syllogisms, logic and rules of evidence. debate, and expository writing.
I excelled in math…until I hit proofs, and once I was allowed to move on to Calculus, Differential Equations, Laplace transforms….I never, ever needed to use proofs to excel in mathmatics again.
Since it is not required to do well on the ACT or SAT test, I did not require my daughter or son to do them. And they are doing very will in all of their subjects, including science and theology, thank you very much…
Thanks so much for your comment. Your comment inspired me to write a new blog post. You’ll see that I agree with you in principle, and look forward to seeing changes in education that result in the same benefits with less of a down side.
Here’s the link.
http://drlindasblog.com/geometry-proofs-problems/
The three headings,
Organization:
Logical thinking:
Self-discipline:
Are really good choices i thought. I believe that doing proofs helps you in life because it gives you insight on how to think through problems in a logical way. “Once developed, these neural connections remain, ready to “jump into action” in real-life situations, long after how-to-do-geometry-proofs has faded into mental oblivion.” this quote describes my feeling for proofs. I dont like them but they are useful later in life.
I’m currently a sophomore in high school studying geometry. I searched for the reason why proofs were necessary, and stumbled upon this article as well as the other one you’ve written. I agree wholeheartedly with your statements.
Proofs still annoy me massively as I can easily solve geometry math problems when I don’t have to present every little modicum of evidence that I come across and memorize every single rule out there – but as it’s all for the sake of building myself a better brain, so to speak, in my mind it really is worth it in the end.
Truthfully, I’m grateful that I even get this chance and look forward to cultivating myself further in the future, in both body and mind.
Bob,
Your last sentence speaks volumes. I hope you reap the benefits of your hard work and good attitude.
Bob,
Your last sentence speaks volumes. I hope you reap the benefits of your hard work and good attitude.
John,
I’m impressed that you searched for the reason for studying geometry. It’s easier to simply gripe about things that are challenging than to learn about possible benefits.
I hope you reap the benefits of your hard work and good attitude.