I don't agree with the majority of the "lies" on this list, but the one in particular that caught my eye was "you will use algebra after high school." Now, this is not a new opinion. The idea that algebra is useless and will never be used after high school is one shared by many students. I've lost track of how many times, while substitute teaching, I've been asked something along the lines of "Why do we need to learn this? We're never going to use it again."
The truth is that students need math in almost every occupational field that requires higher education, such as computer science, electronics, engineering, medicine, trade and commerce analysts, science, etc.
Students can check the Math in Careers Database for the math requirements of 291 major occupations. These jobs together employ 88 percent of the American workforce! Since most high school students aren't sure what career path they want to follow, they should be encouraged to study algebra and learn all the math that they can so that their career choices won't be limited later in life. And even if they think they know what they want to do, they could change their mind!
Students still convinced they won't need algebra in the future? Direct them to the website Algebra in the Real World, which has short movies, lesson guides, and student worksheets that show how algebra is used in real world applications, such as animal conservation, architecture, baseball, farming, roller coasters, solar power, and more! When you have $360 and you're trying to figure out how many $60 X-Box games you can buy, when you have 64 guests coming to dinner and only 12 plates and need to know how many more to buy, when you're creating a budget, or even just figuring out which size product is the best value while grocery shopping, you are using algebra!
Still not convinced? In that case, tell students that studying algebra helps develop logical thinking and problem solving skills. It can increase your intelligence! So even if you don't use the specific skills you learned in algebra class, your improved thinking skills will help you in all other areas of your life. How's that for a real world application?
No comments:
Post a Comment