Why Do We Learn Math in School?

Why do we learn math in school?

I get some version of this question at least once a week from a slew of people… students, parents, non-math teachers, random strangers at the grocery store… Although that last one, not so much since March 2020…

I am always shocked by this question but never knew how to answer it when I was a tutor in the early days. I mean who would know how to answer it without sitting there for some time and really reflecting on why do we learn math. Later in life, I began teaching middle schoolers, and let me tell you that this age group is literally the hardest group to convince to show their work and really sell on why math is so important in daily life. I knew I had to get creative in my explanations.

So one day I just googled, why do we learn math? The results were pretty interesting. After some time of sifting through the garbage that was not helpful, I stumbled upon some really good reasons. One has stuck with me for some time and honestly, it’s the reason I use it the most when I get asked this age-old question.

We study math because we want to be good problem solvers. Simple, right? Well, not really when you say this to a middle schooler who would rather play video games or chat with their friends. Try telling your middle school-aged kiddo that they need to solve problems in the real world. What will their reaction be? Maybe a whatever shrug or what the heck are you talking about look, but in the end, it won’t make sense to the kiddos.

As parents, we try to solve our children’s problems. It’s just what most millennials try to do. Children haven’t had to solve real-world problems yet. They haven’t been in college living off of ramen and wondering where they will get enough money to help them pay for their next phone bill (neither have I, I know I’m lucky). They haven’t had to host their parents and in-laws at the same time over the holidays (figuring out sleeping arrangements and making sure everyone has a pillow and bed to sleep in at night). They haven’t had to make a trip to Costco while their children were at dance class (calculating the amount of time it would take to get to drive to Costco, pick up the items you need and then drive back in time to pick up your child from class).

The truth is nobody understands why we need to learn problem-solving until they are faced with a problem that they can’t solve.

Will you ever be asked to factor an equation with imaginary roots in real life? Not very likely. But will you be presented with a problem that may have multiple ways of finding the solution, HECK YES!

The best way that I can help explain this to my students is by giving them the analogy of a baby and tummy time. Think about how often you put a baby on their tummy, and for what reason? Babies have a problem – they can’t hold their heads steady for long periods of time. As adults we’ve come up with a solution – put a baby on his tummy and have him practice lifting his head, building the muscles necessary to keep his head up. Does the baby grow up to be an adult and spend hours every day on his tummy?! No, that’s ridiculous. So then I ask you, how will you learn how to solve a problem as an adult if you don’t practice as a child?