I always thought that many primary schools were good at mathematics, but junior high schools suddenly lost interest in mathematics, basically because they lacked a correct understanding of mathematics. As we all know, in primary school, math exams are based on basic concepts, and a large number of application problems can make them relate their math knowledge to real-life problems. Many primary school students with excellent mathematics achievements have established their interest in mathematics by applying vivid practical situations in their problems.

In junior high school, except for some application problems in the chapter of equations and functions, other parts basically belong to "pure math games" Even so, in the formal examination (including the senior high school entrance examination), the application questions are still 1~2 multiple-choice questions, 1~2 fill-in-the-blank questions, 1 answer. Since junior high school, many problems can't be found in textbooks at all. Even if it is a formal exam, some problems may not be encountered in daily practice. This is in sharp contrast with primary school mathematics, which is almost equivalent to basic concepts, basic operations and basic applications.

Strictly speaking, there are many difficult "skill problems" in primary school mathematics. However, almost all of these topics belong to the field of primary school olympiad, and hardly involve school education. This makes many primary school students mistakenly think that mathematics is a subject that carries out "mechanical operation" according to basic definitions and laws, but the basic thinking ability of mathematics is basically not cultivated.

Personally, if teachers want to really get started with mathematics, they should popularize what mathematics is, what are the main characteristics of the research objects of mathematics, whether mathematics is a science, what is the relationship between mathematics and natural sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology, why mathematicians only deduce without doing experiments, and how mathematical knowledge corresponds to real life. More importantly, through the above popular science, let students deeply realize that abstraction and deduction are the soul of mathematics, not "mechanical operation, cats draw tigers"! Of course, it is undeniable that even the most difficult problems and the most flexible skills cannot violate the most basic mathematical definitions, axioms and theorems.