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| Day 14 of 31 |
As a high school math teacher, this is a question that I'm used to. And I'm fine with answering it. I am well aware that most people will not have to verify trigonometric identities as part of their professional lives. However, I do sincerely believe that learning some higher level math helps develop analytical skills that (hopefully) will be used in the future. Sometimes the concepts are tough, I think of it like excersizing the brain.
In my Algebra 1 class this morning, I had a student really floor me. Instead of the normal complaint, his speech went something like this.
"To me, this is like building a flying hot dog. Why do I need to learn all of the steps to building a flying hot dog when I can just take an airplane?
Like I said, stopped in my tracks.
PS - Happy π Day!
Well, he was able to make a great analogy, that's for sure! Maybe he garnered those analytically skills unwittingly from his math practice. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wise boy! My husband memorized (I don't know how many) the Pi numbers. His math teacher had them posted across the top of the board...so my husband slowly memorized a few a day. Of course,...he could continue to infinity...but stopped with the ones printed above the board. Happy Pi Day Jackie http://familytrove.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHappy Pi Day! He must be gifted, flying hotdog, indeed. I've always loved solving for X and isn't that the essence of algebra?
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT, what teaching offers that keeps us on our toes :)
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