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What are the personal benefits of learning mathematics
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It is undisputed that most jobs require some use of math, even though math is an unpopular subject in school. From the time a child starts the first grade until graduation, math is a required course in school every year. Students should be required to take math in school because it’s a needed skill and prerequisite for jobs, for other school courses, and for life. First , students need to learn math because a lot of jobs involve the use of math. According to Michael Handel’s survey about U.S. workers that use math, 94% of workers use math of any level. Doctors, engineers, accountants, and etc. are all popular jobs that students consider, but they all require math. So, if student decides to become a doctor, then they’ll be prepared to learn …show more content…
Many classes like sciences, engineer courses, and technological courses involve and require certain levels of math. For example, algebra is required for students to take physics because algebra is used throughout the course to calculate all measurements like velocity, distance, and speed. Also, colleges require a certain amount of math in high school for students to be able to be accepted. For example, University of Sciences requires 3 years of math and recommends 4 years of math throughout high school for a student to be able to apply. Also, since college math courses are about higher level calculus, taking algebra and precalculus in high school will prepare the student for the college course. It wouldn’t only prepare the student for school, it would prepare the student for …show more content…
They feel that math will never be used in life, like people won’t use the quadratic formula. According to Michael Handel’s survey only about 22% of workers use math that is of algebra difficulty or higher. But, what some people don’t understand is a lot of things that they do is actually using math skills, like when someone calculates their debt and interest rates, they are using algebra that they learn in school. Also, according to Mark Karadimos jobs that jobs that don’t require math, labor intensive jobs, are decreasing because machinery and robots are replacing them. If someone wants above standard pay, they must learn math to be able to gain a more successful job and pay load by using math to do things like fixing the machines. Therefore, math is one key to
I was never one to be inclined towards math or science. I always felt that English and writing were more my speed, and in turn I enjoyed them more. From Susan Jacoby’s point of view as shown in her essay “When Bright Girls Decide That Math is a Waste of Time,” this would not have been a good enough reason for me to stop taking those subjects in my later years of high school. However, I disagree. I think learning, especially as you get older and closer to college-age, should be about the subjects that allow you to thrive and discover yourself, not about those that you struggle with and cause you stress.
Math is everywhere when most people first think of math or the word “Algebra,” they don’t get too excited. Many people say “Math sucks” or , “When are we ever going to use it in our lives.” The fact is math will be used in our lives quite frequently. For example, if we go watch a softball game all it is, is one giant math problem. Softball math can be used in many
Mathematics has become a very large part of society today. From the moment children learn the basic principles of math to the day those children become working members of society, everyone has used mathematics at one point in their life. The crucial time for learning mathematics is during the childhood years when the concepts and principles of mathematics can be processed more easily. However, this time in life is also when the point in a person’s life where information has to be broken down to the very basics, as children don’t have an advanced capacity to understand as adults do. Mathematics, an essential subject, must be taught in such a way that children can understand and remember.
I also learned that mathematics was more than merely an intellectual activity: it was a necessary tool for getting a grip on all sorts of problems in science and engineering. Without mathematics there is no progress. However, mathematics could also show its nasty face during periods in which problems that seemed so simple at first sight refused to be solved for a long time. Every math student will recognize these periods of frustration and helplessness.
Mathematics is everywhere we look, so many things we encounter in our everyday lives have some form of mathematics involved. Mathematics the language of understanding the natural world (Tony Chan, 2009) and is useful to understand the world around us. The Oxford Dictionary defines mathematics as ‘the science of space, number, quantity, and arrangement, whose methods, involve logical reasoning and use of symbolic notation, and which includes geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and analysis of mathematical operations or calculations (Soanes et al, Concise Oxford Dictionary,
With this promise came serious concerns over education taught students ranked 28th in the United States out of 40 other countries in Mathematics and Sciences. 80% of occupations depend on knowledge of Mathematics and Science (Week and Obama 2009). In order to ensure that educators have enough money to fund the endeavor to be more competitive with the rest of the world in Mathematics and Science, President Obama will increase federal spending in education with an additional 18 billion dollars in k-12 classrooms, guaranteeing educators have the teachers, technology, and professional development to attain highly quali...
Mathematics is part of our everyday life. Things you would not expect to involve math
Ward (2005) explores writing and reading as the major literary mediums for learning mathematics, in order for students to be well equipped for things they may see in the real world. The most recent trends in education have teachers and curriculum writers stressed about finding new ways to tie in current events and real-world situations to the subjects being taught in the classroom. Wohlhuter & Quintero (2003) discuss how simply “listening” to mathematics in the classroom has no effect on success in student academics. It’s important to implement mathematical literacy at a very young age. A case study in the article by authors Wohlhuter & Quintero explores a program where mathematics and literacy were implemented together for children all the way through eight years of age. Preservice teachers entered a one week program where lessons were taught to them as if they were teaching the age group it was directed towards. When asked for a definition of mathematics, preservice teachers gave answers such as: something related to numbers, calculations, and estimations. However, no one emphasized how math is in fact extremely dependable on problem-solving, explanations, and logic. All these things have literacy already incorporated into them. According to Wohlhuter and Quintero (2003), the major takeaways from this program, when tested, were that “sorting blocks, dividing a candy bar equally, drawing pictures, or reading cereal boxes, young children are experienced mathematicians, readers, and writers when they enter kindergarten.” These skills are in fact what they need to succeed in the real-world. These strategies have shown to lead to higher success rates for students even after they graduate
...re encompassing way, it becomes very clear that everything that we do or encounter in life can be in some way associated with math. Whether it be writing a paper, debating a controversial topic, playing Temple Run, buying Christmas presents, checking final grades on PeopleSoft, packing to go home, or cutting paper snowflakes to decorate the house, many of our daily activities encompass math. What has surprised me the most is that I do not feel that I have been seeking out these relationships between math and other areas of my life, rather the connections just seem more visible to me now that I have a greater appreciation and understanding for the subject. Math is necessary. Math is powerful. Math is important. Math is influential. Math is surprising. Math is found in unexpected places. Math is found in my worldview. Math is everywhere. Math is Beautiful.
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
I am in total opposition of this statement. I believe that if a person studies mathematics they have a world of options open to them. By no means does studying mathematics limit a person to the teaching profession alone. Mathematics majors are in demand in the work force. The jobs are out there if the perspective workers have good job search skills, which are essential. The teaching profession alone offers an assortment of different levels of teaching. One could teach at the elementary, middle school, high school, college, and university levels. There are also teacher's aids, research assistants, and student teachers, as well as substitute teachers. The demand for teachers is elevating at an alarming rate. This goes for teachers in general, but especially for teachers interested in teaching in the mathematics or science fields. Besides being a teacher, who technically is a mathematician, there is also the obvious profession of being a mathematician without being a teacher. There are also opportunities such as becoming an engineer, a research scientist, or a manager of a business. Mathematics majors work for such companies as IBM, AT&T Bell Labs, American Airlines, FedEx, L. L. Bean, and Perdue Farms Inc to name a few.(Source III) There are also mathematicians employed in such government agencies as The Bureau of the Census, Department of Agriculture, and NASA Goddard Space Center.(Sources III and IV) Mathematicians are needed in the fields of law and medicine as well as in the arts, such as sculpting, music, and television. The possibilities are seemingly endless. When you think about it, almost every job involves mathematics. It is true that not every job opening could be properly satisfied by a person who majored in mathematics, but for the most part that person would have an advantage over other applicants because of their knowledge in mathematics. I believe that a strong background in mathematics is an asset to a person looking into just about any field of work.
The prominence of numeracy is extremely evident in daily life and as teachers it is important to provide quality assistance to students with regards to the development of a child's numeracy skills. High-level numeracy ability does not exclusively signify an extensive view of complex mathematics, its meaning refers to using constructive mathematical ideas to “...make sense of the world.” (NSW Government, 2011). A high-level of numeracy is evident in our abilities to effectively draw upon mathematical ideas and critically evaluate it's use in real-life situations, such as finances, time management, building construction and food preparation, just to name a few (NSW Government, 2011). Effective teachings of numeracy in the 21st century has become a major topic of debate in recent years. The debate usually streams from parents desires for their child to succeed in school and not fall behind. Regardless of socio-economic background, parents want success for their children to prepare them for life in society and work (Groundwater-Smith, 2009). A student who only presents an extremely basic understanding of numeracy, such as small number counting and limited spatial and time awareness, is at risk of falling behind in the increasingly competitive and technologically focused job market of the 21st Century (Huetinck & Munshin, 2008). In the last decade, the Australian curriculum has witness an influx of new digital tools to assist mathematical teaching and learning. The common calculator, which is becoming increasing cheap and readily available, and its usage within the primary school curriculum is often put at the forefront of this debate (Groves, 1994). The argument against the usage of the calculator suggests that it makes students lazy ...
In the United States, there are many different jobs that require some knowledge of mathematics. Almost every job in the United State uses some form of math, in any developed nation like the United States math is very crucial in every aspect for any nation to be able to sustain, recover and develop. It is very important that we start encouraging our children to take an interest in math and science. The decline of math in the United States has will have a direct impact on the nation’s wallet. Math is used in a variety of ways like in food technology, building technology, chemical sciences, civil and structural engineering, biomedical engineering, graphics and computer-aided drawing (CAD), electronics, environmental health, mechanical engineering,
Devlin believes that mathematics has four faces 1) Mathematics is a way to improve thinking as problem solving. 2) Mathematics is a way of knowing. 3) Mathematics is a way to improve creative medium. 4) Mathematics is applications. (Mann, 2005). Because mathematics has very important role in our life, teaching math in basic education is as important as any other subjects. Students should study math to help them how to solve problems and meet the practical needs such as collect, count, and process the data. Mathematics, moreover, is required students to be capable of following and understanding the future. It also helps students to be able to think creativity, logically, and critically (Happy & Listyani, 2011,
Allowing children to learn mathematics through all facets of development – physical, intellectual, emotional and social - will maximize their exposure to mathematical concepts and problem solving. Additionally, mathematics needs to be integrated into the entire curriculum in a coherent manner that takes into account the relationships and sequences of major mathematical ideas. The curriculum should be developmentally appropriate to the