If I had a penny for every time I'd used Pythagoras' Theorem in real life after school, I would be utterly destitute; a penniless pauper forced to hustle my chaps for loose change under a canal bridge. Thankfully though, I mercifully have other sources of income, so this terrible situation has been averted.
Well, the National Council for Curriculum Assessment have announced that proving the Pythagorean Theorem, for so long a staple of Junior Cert maths cycles should now become a thing of the past - like Polio, bowler hats and Hugh Heffner.
The Council have decided that, in order to try free up class time, students should no longer be asked to learn the proofs of theorems such as ol' Pythagaros, and should instead focus their time on actually applying and using them through mathematics. This reassessment of how the subject is taught comes in the wake of an evaluation of the impact of Project Maths since its introduction in 2010.
The reformed curriculum for maths will be phased in from next year with the first Pythagoras-free Junior Cert expected to take place in 2021.
Now I'm somewhat torn here; torn because I both actually love maths and because everything I've ever learned about fitting in in general society has stressed that I should endeavour to hide that fact as much as is humanly possible. That said, can I remember the actual proof for the Pythagoras' Theorem? Not even slightly. But I do remember what it is and how to use it, so in a way, this big ol' sack of nerd is sort of proving their point anyway.
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Really, why should we bow to the whims of a long-deceased Greek man who so needily begs each generation of school children to prove just how bang on he was about triangles? Congratulations Pythagoras, you have cemented for yourself one of the oddest, bitterest legacies of any human in history.
H/T: Irish Examiner
