What Math is Relevant? Taxes, Debt and Grocery Shopping Math Vs. Pythagorean Theorem, y = fx and Int
- Afiqah Ayauf
- Aug 29, 2015
- 5 min read
As education researchers and policy makers debate on the battle of the significance and application of math, it is still an essential subject that children should not miss out.
Mathematics is not only a study of numbers and working with numbers, it is a huge box of tools that children can learn to use to 'hammer', 'cut', 'generate', and 'organize' numbers.
When kids are young, they can easily learn how to use a hammer and a screwdriver, and in the same way, they can easily learn the first four operatives - addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
As kids grow older, more operatives and 'concepts/tools' are added to the box of Math tools so kids could use these skills later on when problems arise - by applying these mathematical concepts into finding solutions to problems that come up in their work, learning and life.
So, which Math is relevant, practical math or scientific math?
Before I jump straight into a conclusion, let's refresh ourselves with the advantages of learning each kind math:
Practical Mathematics:
Practical math such as arithmetic, shapes, coins and money, grocery budgeting, measurements and other skills are generally learned at the elementary school level. These skills are essential even for those who are privileged enough to not need a college degree and not want or have to work (are there kids who do not want to work?).
Every child needs to know how to count (kids innately count, in English or in an imaginary language anyway), add, subtract, multiply and divide. Kids need to know inches, miles, cups, meters and liters. Kids need to know temperatures and kids need to know shapes.
But what about taxes, investments, debt, credit cards, budgeting, managing money, savings, personal finance, creating a business, developing financial goals and systems, bills, insurance, and making money? Aren't these skills essential for kids to become functional and independent adults?
Too many millenials today learned these skills much later than they are supposed to - that is after they are 18, as opposed to before 18 - and having to pay for the price of mismanaging finances.
There is no question that children need to learn these things before they become adults, but the issue is how accessible is this knowledge. Many public and private schools do not provide courses and projects that implement these skills, and some of the ones that do provide these skills do not seem to generate effective results.
Some parents may find it difficult to teach these concepts to their offspring, despite their own expertise or skills in these areas. And this difficulty translates into the need for some sort of planning or restructuring of learning to be developed to teach kids these skills.
Education researchers agree that young adults do have a financial problem - and it's not just college debt, mortgage and credit card use (no, I am not here to comment on that in this post). It is really about credit score, credit report, car loans, monthly subscriptions and loans on other consumer products.
It is about long term savings and investments and budgeting. Young adults find it difficult to comprehend the need for emergency savings accounts, IRAs, 401Ks, annuities, certificate of deposits (CDs), or mutual funds, etc, or combinations of these.
Kids having to face adulthood and not having these skills will inevitably make costly mistakes, especially when college and retirement come into the picture and scholarships and grants are far fetched.
Scientific Mathematics:
Okay, this is also business calculus, economics statistics, social study demographics, and definitely STEM calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, etc. It is also algebra, precalculus and geometry.
Is this math relevant? Is this math applicable? How is it significant? How is it applicable?
Well, scientific math is relevant. It is definitely significant and absolutely applicable. According to this article featured on Big Think on this link, research has shown that higher aptitude for math also translates into better management of personal finances.
However, I would say that scientific math is not necessarily essential, not in for general applications in life, but it is definitely essential in STEM areas.
Higher mathematics is not just the study of numbers and the manipulation of functions and operatives, it is an expansion of logical and analytical thinking.
It is about identifying problems and finding solutions. It is about finding meaningful data and applying this data efficiently. It is about finding the speed of the launching rocket, the location of an electron at any single time, the profit of a large business after several years of growth, the acidity of a lemon and the rate of microbial growth on a piece of chicken left on the stove overnight.
These principles can be applied across several fields and can be used over and over again, and produce better and greater results if used efficiently. It allows the mind to navigate further than just multiplication and exponentially.
It gives the mind the power to understand the world around us, physically, chemically, biologically, and mathematically among many other ways. It gives kids the ability to become doctors (a doctor who doesn't know algebra will not get the significance of the pH system for examining blood acidity), engineers, programmers, accountants, high industry entrepreneurs, inventors, innovators, physicists, biologists and other scientists and social scientists.
This is the math that propels civilization forward. This is the math that is the building blocks of technology. And as long as humans love and use technology, the need for a workforce that specialize in these skills or even equipped with these skills will continue to be around.
As we face the question whether a child should be equipped with practical math or scientific math, I recommend approaching the problem from the individual needs of the child, and of course, with the counsel and advice of a school career advisors and the recommendations of the child's teachers.
If a child shows a high interest and aptitude for scientific math, it is in the best interest of the child to pursue scientific math, as well as being proficient with essential practical math skills.
If the child has no interest and no aptitude for this math, it might be advisable for the child to focus his or her math learning on practical math skills in order to cover the essentials without having to risk low self-esteem and powerlessness with rigorous scientific math that may end up being inapplicable and useless to a child that wants to pursue interior design or sculpture anyway.
And for such a child, practical math is sufficient for their success in these fields.
Let's not force a fish to climb a tree unnecessarily . Let the fish that shines in swimming continue to shine in swimming rather than climbing a tree. Let the monkey climb a tree and shine in this way. Then both monkey and the fish are on their way to success in their own talents.
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