Mathematics: Constructive Necessity or Irrelevant Task

By Rachel Armany

While opinions on the subject of mathematics differ from anyone you ask, there is a definite trend of opposition among average high school students. With a multitude of reasons behind this trend, a theme of the subject being “too abstract” plays a major role.

Articulating from an educator’s view on this concept, Mr. Jerome, a math teacher from Stoughton High said, “For the kids who hate it I think they had something happen early in their education that turned them off for math, and they decided they couldn't do it. The kids who really like it I think find it as a challenge and enjoy the challenge.”

In math classes of various types, common questions asked from students start to become redundant. Questions such as: why is this important? How does this help me? And one of the most controversial: how is this going to help me in “real life”? In response to this, Mr. Jerome said, “There are a couple of reasons. It's important to understand some of the news we hear, stories about taxes or deficit and everyone uses numbers to argue both sides of an argument so it's important to understand what is relevant and what isn't. It's important as a consumer, so you're aware when you are paying too much for something. I think it's most important to develop a way of thinking that is unique and difficult that is not done in other studies.

On the other end of this highly opinionated spectrum, an anonymous student says that “there are different aspects of math and a lot of them really aren't important in real life. While it's good to know basic math in the workforce, a lot of the work today is done by calculators and computers. When I grow older and get a job, I truly believe learning how to graph a triangle or a parabola is not going to help me succeed any more than if I had not known how to”. Another source says that “while I don't always enjoy math classes, I think we have good resources and teachers for the most part, and it may be difficult, but I still think most of it is important”.

Accompanying these views, in a poll taken from 30 random Stoughton High students about their view on math, results led to 12 students (or 40%) saying that they dislike math, 15 students (50%) saying they were okay with the subject or do not mind it, and only 3 students (10%) saying that they genuinely enjoy it.

In conclusion, while the discontent towards the subject remains, the key concept to take away from math education is not necessarily if one is going to use each specific skill, but more towards the idea of how the skill benefits the individual. What this means is that obviously a student is not going to use every single thing they learn in math class in their adult life, but learning skills of problem solving, abstract thinking, logic, theories, and critical thinking are undeniably useful tools that can be carried out and applied in any stage of life.