Saturday, April 4, 2020

The Importance of Math in day to day life


Mathematics is often seen by students as irrelevant, boring and of no use after school is completed. These things couldn't be farther from the truth, especially as technological advances make math more and more a part of our daily lives, even if it is behind the scenes. As we continue to develop, data sciences, mathematics and overall thinking skills built in math class become more important each day. There are numerous ways math is integrated into our everyday lives, including the lifelong skills it helps us to build and it’s necessity as we move into the jobs of the future.

Here are some key areas of our daily lives where math is critical:

Managing Your Home
       Cooking & Baking
       Telling time
       Home decor & repairs
       Gardening

       Paying bills
       Getting loans
       Using credit cards
       Budgeting

Travel
       Driving
       Booking flights & hotels
       Currency conversions
       Time zone changes

Shopping
       Groceries
       Clothing
       Understanding sales & promotions
       Determining how much you need of something

Entertainment
       Art
       Music
       Sports
       Calculating a tip


Nature
       Understanding how/why things grow
       Genetics
       Chemistry
       Navigating (without signs and computers)

As you can see, math is all around you and is required to be able to function effectively in today’s society. Everything runs on time, measurement and costs and life requires calculations and conversions all day long.

There are also some key skills gained from math outside of just formulaic knowledge. These are imperative to our cognitive ability to “get through the day” and are required for most jobs, not to mention building on the social skills we learn throughout our lives.

Math learning teaches us to

Think faster
Solve problems
Think critically
Find solutions using reasoning
Use relational thinking by explaining how things work and how they relate to each other
Use analytical thinking by learning how to investigate the world around us
Overcome frustration and uncertainty

Math has always been an important part of our occupations. From the nurse measuring medication to the insurance advisor calculating risk to farmers and gardeners in so many ways, math is used in almost every job today in some capacity, which will continue to grow as new technologies advance.

The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but, rather those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.
-Alvin Toffler

Strong critical thinking, problem solving and the ability to digest and interpret data will be the essential job skills as we come into the next generation of the workforce. Students should be working now to develop the skills and mindset they will need to be successful in the future.

As you can see, math is necessary in almost every aspect of our lives and the practice of math learning creates important skill sets that will impact overall thinking for the rest of a child’s life.

Learning the foundations of math is so important! If your child is struggling with foundational knowledge or you’re looking to set them up for long term success, getting them started with a tutor who can focus on their areas of need and possible development should be your key focus. 
Mathnasium has a proven method for getting students to excel to their full potential. Learn more here.

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