Blog Twelve - Math as a Class
Mathematics has existed for millennia. Everything in the known world can be explained through the lens of numbers. However, with the changing times, the debate on the necessity of higher-level mathematics in today’s education has continued to spark new and exciting points. One side argues for its essentiality in analyzing the world properly, and the other points out holes in its outdatedness in modern education.
As the Washington Post pointed out in an article, “Inside the new middle school math crisis,” “More than proficiency in other subjects, math proficiency predicts both an individual’s future earnings and a country’s economic productivity.” This is likely because mathematics serves as a good foundation for many technical and STEM jobs, which are generally higher paid. It also stems from the skills that proficiency in mathematics can enhance. For example, since mathematics is a very problem-solving-based subject, it boosts critical thinking and logical reasoning skills. So, even if the career itself does not require mathematics (which is highly unlikely, as most careers will need at least basic arithmetic or algebra), the rational analysis capabilities developed from having a firm grasp of mathematics are what makes an individual stand out in their field as a valuable asset to their employer.
A quote taken from Alec Wilkinson’s guest essay in the New York Times, titled “Math Is the Great Secret,” clearly illustrates the wish that many young students have for their mathematics education, which is simply a new definition of mathematics, writing that it would have “appealed to [him] deeply as a boy and might have made mathematics seem maybe not welcoming, but at least less forbidding than it appeared.” If mathematics is presented as something more than just problems to solve, for example, the way Wilkinson presented it, as “a story that has been being written for thousands of years, is always being added to and might never be finished,” students may have more drive to learn it. Mathematics, as a subject, can be defined in many beautiful ways. Yet, if we do not take advantage of the beauty of mathematics, and if we do not use these properties to make it seem more appealing to students, they cannot be blamed for disliking the subject.
But the thing is, it is fascinating, but is it truly necessary beyond basic arithmetic and finances? Advanced mathematics started being taught around the time of the Cold War when the country required these skill sets. Take, for example, an article from the New York Times in 1956 about mathematics. While mathematics was also described as the most hated subject at that time as well, the author reasons that “it must be cultivated if we are to develop scientists and engineers who will hold their own in competition with the Russians.” But now, it is argued that we only continue to teach math because of the country’s “that’s how it has always been” mindset. When the demand for people who know math increased, the education system responded. Many now say that there is no longer a need for every graduating student in America to know advanced mathematics. So now, instead of necessity, it is being taught because of routine or habit.
Many share the sentiment that advanced mathematics is useless and only a cause of stress for high school students. Even in more recent years, math still causes many students issues in their academic careers. For example, the U.S. Department of Education did a study in 2010 that revealed that the reason cited by around eighty percent of high school students for dropping out of school was their inability to pass Algebra 1. This fuels the argument that if this one subject is preventing students from achieving a high school diploma, which could have opened many doors for the dropout students, should the importance of it not be questioned?
Regardless of the varying opinions on whether higher-level math should be taught, the beauty of it should not be taken for granted. If it were to continue being taught, this beauty, and the many interesting patterns that get revealed upon further study of mathematics, should be shown to the students so they hopefully see more point in learning it. Rather than presenting math as a set of procedures to follow for no apparent reason, it would lead to a more cohesive understanding if it were presented as an ongoing narrative.
