We're witnessing a data surge
Math teachers everywhere have to be saying, "I told you so!" Wherever we look these days are graphs, charts, statistical analyses, and mathematical models about the coronavirus pandemic. There are so many ways that mathematical literacy is vital to our understanding of current events – a perfect example of, yes, you will need to use this in the real world.
I came across an article from The New York Times Learning Network last week, 7 Ways to Explore the Math of the Coronavirus Using The New York Times, with some great ideas for investigating real-life applications of math.
This immediately reminded me of a thought-provoking podcast episode and Los Angeles Times opinion piece from last fall by Jo Baoler and Steven Levitt. Jo Boaler is a Professor of Mathematics Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and founder of Youcubed, an organization dedicated to improving math education (or "maths" as she says it). I took her online course several years ago when I taught math for the first time in 14 years. Steven Levitt is a professor at the University of Chicago School of Economics, but I know him best from as the co-author and co-host of the Freakonomics books and podcast.
In the Freakonomics episode, America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up, and the LA Times editorial, Opinion: Modern high school math should be about data science — not Algebra 2, Steve and Jo argue that the focus of high school math education needs to change.
"What we propose is as obvious as it is radical: to put data and its analysis at the center of high school mathematics. Every high school student should graduate with an understanding of data, spreadsheets, and the difference between correlation and causality. Moreover, teaching students to make data-based arguments will endow them with many of the same critical-thinking skills they are learning today through algebraic proofs, but also give them more practical skills for navigating our newly data-rich world" (LA Times).
In the podcast, Steve further explains it this way:
"I believe that we owe it to our children to prepare them for the world that they will encounter — a world driven by data. Basic data fluency is a requirement not just for most good jobs, but also for navigating life more generally, whether it is in terms of financial literacy, making good choices about our own health, or knowing who and what to believe."
Look around at what we're facing today, and I think you'll see that they're right.
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