I am in the process of looking in to 'why' maths is important as a compulsorary school subject. I read this article from 'the guardian', and although it is rather tongue in cheek, I can't help but think that this is another example of why we should have 'numeracy' lessons in schools rather than 'maths' which teach, in my opinion, unnecessary topics (unless you choose to go in to a career that needs simultaneous equations).
Why do we need maths? Guardian article
I have become aware that there is a strong possiblity that my inquiry could be perceived as biased. During my education, I was almost fearful of maths and science! By finding this article, it really was my intention to look in to reasons why maths is important to pupils. Everybody uses maths in day to day life - exchanging money, adding up household bills, stock taking at work...the list goes on. This article has, however, made me more aware of the difference between 'maths' and 'numeracy'. I just don't see the need to have 'maths' (thinking along the lines of triganomety, simultaneous equations and pythagoras)as a 'core' subject. This, in my opinion should be 'numeracy' (multiplication, times tables, percentages, addition etc).
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