3 of 23

Write now Article Tools

"When will I ever use this beyond high school?" is a question the high school math teacher is very familiar with as it is posed by many a frustrated student. The teacher cannot say to the student, although it is tempting and maybe even inappropriately expressed at times by an equally frustrated teacher, "you will more than likely never need to find the measure of the longest side of a triangle using the Pythagorean Theorem in your future career, but if you wish to begin that career with a high school diploma under your belt then you better memorize the formula and stop the complaining!" Oh, how very tempting it must be to say that, but as a math teacher one must be able to make the study of mathematics meaningful to a student. Luckily for math teachers everywhere, there truly is much that is learned in mathematics that makes it a useful subject to even those students whose future career will not involve math beyond the basics of adding and subtracting here or there. The study of math successfully provides a student with strong problem solving skills, high work ethic, more patience than one will require, and a pride that comes with succeeding at something truly difficult.

Math is a beautiful subject and those individuals gifted with the ability to see its beauty know this. However, as anyone who has tried to convey this love and beauty to a teenager interested more in the opposite sex than how to solve a linear equation knows, it is not happening! The only hope you have of drawing a student in is to either relate the topic to them or to demonstrate how it can be used in the future while not altogether impossible and achievable on many levels it is still a challenge. Add to this basic challenge the fact that in most cases the student has not even begun to think about what lies ahead of them, and the situation begins to look even more dismal. Yet, there are so many who take on this challenge and if they are smart they know how to sell their subject! A person with a student's best interest in mind focuses on what the study of math can bring to a student beyond memorizing formulas and theorems along with how these formulas and theorems are applied in the real world.

What other subject teaches a student every day that persistence pays off? A math teacher often has to regularly encourage a student to stick with a process even when it does not make a lot of sense, knowing that the light bulb moment will come in time if the student does not quit at

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Why it is important to study math in high school?
We want to hear your view. Write now!