Benefits of learning math in high school detailed

John Monke will be writing a mini-series on why students take subject classes and how they can apply it to real life. This week’s article focuses on Mathematics and how problem solving skills in math class can be applied in real life. Check out Monke’s first article on English and Language Arts.

Mathematics, or math, has existed for about as long as humans have. Math is one of the key class students need to take in order to graduate as well as excel in life after school.

Math is not always about numbers and exponents. In the article, Why Math is Important, written by Allen Glines, it talks about certain skillsets students learn while taking math classes.

“Math shows you that you can reach a desirable result if you a follow a certain series of steps in a particular order, and complete each step without making an error,” Glines said. “If you find an error in your process, you can start over, making sure to alter your methods at the moment you messed up the first time.”

Later in the article, Glines talks about how successful math students use those skills to help solve life problems.

“A successful mathematician is blessed with complex problem-solving skills they can use in any avenue of life,” Glines continued. “They are able to analyze life’s situations logically, and determine the proper solution based on the circumstances before them. These skills can be gained in other pursuits, but one of the methods to acquire them is through mathematics. A dedication to studying math off-and-on over time will help the student keep, maintain and enhance these skills.”

AP calculus student Landon Goldsborough, ‘19, believes knowing math helps him with everyday situations.

“I’ve learned a lot about problem-solving and real-life measurements,” Goldsborough said. “I think that a good knowledge of math is important for everyday problem solving and useful when working a variety of jobs. My favorite math class is calculus. That is the class that I’m in currently and I enjoy figuring out the complicated problems.”

Campus math II and III teacher Angie Counts argues math is one of the most important subjects in all of high school. Math is a subject which carries students to almost every profession after college.

“Math is probably one of the most important skills you will have for the rest of your life,” Counts said. “If you are not going into high-level jobs such as engineer or computer science, just knowing basic algebra would be important. Algebra teaches you process and it helps you to see things in life is taken by steps. Everybody from every job you can think of, from basketball players to doctors, to construction workers to lawyers, all say math is foundational to their occupation.”

In the article 6 Everyday Examples of Math in the Real World by Ruth Christensen, it talks about how math is used in people’s daily lives. One example used was grocery shopping.

“One of the more obvious places to find people using math in everyday life is at your neighborhood grocery store,” Christensen said. “Grocery shopping requires a broad range of math knowledge from multiplication to estimation and percentages. Each time you calculate the price per unit, weigh produce, figure percentage discounts and estimate the final price, you’re using math in your shopping experience.”

Campus math I and algebra II teacher Kristina Breshears knows math is used in the real world for problem-solving.

“Math is important because it makes you a smart, educated person,” Breshears said. “Life has so much math in it, and even though we are not sitting around and doing the quadratic formula all day every day, we are certainly using problem-solving and logic every day. The most important part of the math I think is definitely problem-solving.”

April is mathematics and statistics awareness month, go and solve math problems!

Read Monke’s first article on English. For more, check out College Corner: Prevent rescinded applications and Join the Discussion: Night of the Stars 2018.

John Monke can be reached via email and via Twitter.