Usefulness of Mathematics Education

Usefulness of Mathematics Education

There has been much discussion over the years about the usefulness of mathematical studies. Everyone seems to have a different viewpoint on the issue. Some believe that mathematics has little use in the working world and so is not a subject that should be taught at higher levels in secondary school. Others argue that mathematics does serve a profound purpose, albeit one that is subtle and not obvious in the vocational world. G. H. Hardy and Underwood Dudley, two great mathematicians of the twentieth century, have differing views, and our current Secretary of Education Richard Riley has his thoughts as well. So who is right? Who has a stronger argument? Here we will take a closer look at what is the main objective of all mathematics instruction.

Hardy once wrote, "Very little of mathematics is useful practically, and that little is comparatively dull" [2]. However, in the next sentence, Hardy states that the power, the importance, the usefulness of a mathematical idea is not in its practical application, but rather in the power of the thought. Dudley agrees with this statement; his main premise is that mathematics, from the world’s viewpoint, is a way of thinking as opposed to the thought. Dudley argues that mathematics is not taught so students can someday go out on the job with confidence of knowing the derivative of sin(x), but that the subject exists in the classroom to teach students how to think [1]. Mathematics is a method of thinking, a powerful way of looking at the world, but it is not a way of making use of oneself in practical living.

In 1996 Robin Ria II and David Burghes conducted an investigation of the need for math skills of young, perspective employees in business, in...

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...ambridge: The University Press, 1941.

[3] Lacampagne, Carole B. State of the Art: Transforming Ideas for Teaching and Learning Mathematics. July 1993. <http://www.ed.gov/pubs/StateArt/Math> (10/16/99).

[4] Quirk, William G. The Anti-Content Mindset: The Root Cause of the "Math Wars". <http://www.wquirk.com/content.html> (10/16/99).

[5] Ria II, Robin, and David Burghes. Mathematical Needs of Young Employees. <http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimt> (10/16/99).

[6] Riley, Richard W. "The State of Mathematics Education: Building a Strong Foundation for the 21st Century." Conference of American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America. 8 Jan. 1998. <http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/01-1998/980108.html>. (10/16/99).

[7] Wood, Michael. The Case for Crunchy Numbers in Practical Mathematics. <http://www.soton.ac.uk/~gary/Wood98.htm> (10/16/99).