The Progression of Mathematics in School

The educational system grooms children to be productive members of society. First coined in the days of one-room schoolhouses, the phrase “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic” has become a common mantra of education. The third of these three r’s is mathematics, an infamous subject. It is incumbent in many professions, from accountants and doctors to physicists and teachers. Both hated and adored by many, math is complex, essential, and encompasses hundreds of topics. These topics can be sorted into four basics categories: elementary math, algebra, physics, and calculus.

Elementary math is the math everyone wishes he could go back to learning. It is the math of writing numbers, counting to ten, and adding two plus two. In elementary math properly scrawling a “7” merits a “good job” sticker, and math’s possibilities never stretch beyond the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. “Mad minute” tests—tests with 60 basic math problems to be completed in under one minute—are perhaps the only frightening aspect of elementary math. Teachers do not struggle to find real-world applications for the four pillars of arithmetic. Eager-eyed students will be enchanted by the fact that they can now answer the classic, “If John has two apples, and Jane has three apples, how many do they have together?” The phrase, “No matter what you do when you get older, you will need to do math” is actually true in terms of elementary arithmetic, for everyone from custodians to CEOs uses skills like adding or dividing every day. With that in mind, elementary mathematics could be considered the most important type of math, despite its simplicity.

The end of this simplicity, algebra, is where a student’s math career can take off or plummet...

... middle of paper ...

... one of the lucky Math Lovers. Math Lovers will continue on to Calculus II, III, and beyond. They will become engineers and computer programmers. If a student thrives in calculus, he should feel proud of himself. He is a Math Lover—one of the fecund minds society reveres for their understanding of such esoteric mathematics.

Striking fear in some and adoration and others, mathematics is diverse. Its divisions of elementary math, algebra, physics, and calculus cover everything from counting to finding the area under a curve. While some occupations require expertise in math, others call for only the basics: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Those who struggle to understand much beyond these four pillars of arithmetic always have the other two r’s to fall back on. Together, reading, writing, and the notorious ‘rithmetic form the basis of education.