Yes, math is hard and definitely not for everyone, which I think is perfectly fine. But arguing that something has no use to you, because the first time in your life you actually have to engage in complex logical thinking is just lazy. The value of mathematics is independent of how hard it is.
That’s why you hear discussions about pushing algebra out, but not about pushing arithmetic out.
That’s why some schools replaced algebra with “data science”.
Abstraction isn’t easy.
But that’s precisely why math, especially algebra and the like, is so essential. It’s the only path to building abstract reasoning among students.
My guess is that answering "what am I ever going to use this for" is easier for other subjects, sometimes almost intuitive. For Maths, it needs to be defined as soon as it starts getting abstract.
"what am I ever going to use this for" is a perfectly valid question. People who are supposed to answer it should do a better job of doing so, writing good curriculum, and overall communication.
How so? What am I ever going to use my skills in analysing 20th century literature for. What am I ever going to use my knowledge about Roman history for? What am I ever going to use my knowledge about the structure of our government for? Certainly no employeer of mine ever cared, my University didn't care, nobody seems to have ever cared, except my teachers.
The question is bad because:
- People ask it, but only of mathematics
- People answer it, as if mathematics alone has to face that challenge
If school is about job training the answer is simply "because it contains the broadest possible techniques to understand the world and is vital in basically any data-based scientific pursuit and a basic understanding is needed for any trade which uses measurements". Somehow I think ancient history does not have such an answer...
You can use the same skills to spot when a news article is trying to manipulate you.
> What am I ever going to use my knowledge about Roman history for?
You can see how empires fall, and vote against those things.
> What am I ever going to use my knowledge about the structure of our government for?
Understanding why things happen around you is the first thing you need if you ever want to try and change something you don't like.
> Certainly no employeer of mine ever cared, my University didn't care, nobody seems to have ever cared, except my teachers.
You might care, though. Or you might not know what you know now without them.
Thankfully you did all those things, so now you can write a well-written letter to the correct person in government, citing the parallel problems with the current education system and the fall of Rome, and stop children being taught this stuff (-:
I've often heard it asked of languages, specifically Irish.
The main difference for me is that it's relatively easy to "fill in the gaps" for any other subject we learned from the ages of 12-18. Irish however, is niche enough - and learning resources generally technologically behind - that it's still quite tricky to self-teach or "quickly google" answers to things. That makes it unique from most other primary/secondary school subjects which are more universally taught across the world.
