Is Math Worth The Effort

By Author: Robert Duval
Total Articles: 25
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Ever since mankind has existed, people have complained about the need of learning math. I'll never use it in the practical world. My desire is to be a fireman or a cowboy or a news reporter and they will never need to know what a number is. Today, with the common use of pocket calculators and all sorts of electronic wonders which are skillfully operated by young children, it's a better question than ever before. Why should someone put effort in the formulas and memorize the times tables they learn in class Why would you want to take any effort in working with formulas, and even worse, memorizing them, when the same result can be achieved with a calculator a zillion times faster? It seems like a valid concern, and students ask it all the time

The answer to this question has some depth, which goes a bit further the evident. No one finds it entertaining to memorize facts; nevertheless, the foundations is what is usually better learned at first. It is plausible that reversing the way facts are presented might do much toward helping students to understand why the study of math can be helpful.

The main reason why ...
... math studies are helpful is that they force them to read and understand the question or problem. The student learns to organize their thinking in order to understand the true dimensions of the problem. The formulas by themselves won't help to fully comprehend how to apply a formula. In order to master that ability, the students need to get their brains active in order to recognize patterns and elements that will allow them to associate knowledge and to gain a more complete understanding. This new found understanding, obtained from the practice in figuring out the parameters in a math problem also contributes in other fields of study.

In addition to learning how to organize your thinking due to math, you will also be forced to come to understand the meaning of the formulas, in terms of knowing how to apply them. In short, unless you understand something about how math works, it won't do any good to help with typing the numbers into the calculator. While the actual calculation performed by a calculator does greatly simplify even routine problem solving, to raise three generations of students with no understanding of how to use a calculator to establish which of two items in different sized containers costs more is a travesty of the concept of mathematics education. Many adults do not understand the concept of reconciling a bank statement, or calculating true cost of an adjustable rate mortgage.

The current state of affairs in American education is difficult at best. Standardized tests show a dramatic fall in the math understanding of our students and the tendency doesn't seem to be in the way of getting reverted in the short-run. Teachers are criticized for not trying to go a little bit further, and maybe this criticism is a little bit unfair, because this fall is part of a deeper tendency.