Why Do I Have to Learn This..?

As we know, Americans are falling behind many of the other industrialized nations when it comes to our mathematical knowledge. Shorter schooldays and school years and more diverse populations of students are a couple of facts that may lead to our low scores in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects. There are many teachers and organizations that are dedicated to finding better ways to teach our students math, so that we can remain to be a competitive nation. Here are a couple of stories I have read about that I would like to share to you.

Audrey Cucci, a high school math teacher in Frankfort, New York, uses group work and various means of technology to create an interactive and collaborative classroom that gives students opportunities to work together and manipulate abstract math problems to find solutions and explain their work. You can click here to read about Cucci’s classroom here, or you can click here to view her lessons on SchoolTube. Cucci uses an interactive whiteboard and microphone to record each of her lessons.

“Why do I have to learn this?” If your students have this question for you during one of your math lessons, you may want to show them the careers that require a solid background in math. Texas Instruments and the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center have dedicated a portion of their Student Zone website to describing various STEM careers and the background it takes to succeed.

As we know, there is still a significant pay gap among men and women and more women than men are graduating with bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees, But…men still outnumber women in STEM careers which often offer generous salaries. Expanding Your Horizons Network is dedicated to motivating young women in science and math; AAUW Tech Trek is a math/science camp “designed to develop interest, excitement and self-confidence in young women who will enter eighth grade in the fall”; Singer and founder of Advancement of Women Now , Mary J. Blige, has partnered with NASA to encourage young women to pursue STEM career choices.