It was a Thursday afternoon. I had just taught a lesson on multiplication and I was circulating around the classroom as usual. As I walked by a group of boys, one of them turned to me and said in an annoyed tone, “Miss Jensen, I am never going to use math. I am going to be a professional football player.” I stopped at the table and gave the student a list of math topics that are used in football regularly, including yardage, statistics, angles, positive/negative numbers, etc. In response, the student finished the rest of the assignment without another complaint. For the rest of the class period, that student’s perspective on math was changed. Once he discovered that he might use math in his desired career, his mindset toward the subject shifted entirely.
The interaction that I had with that student gave me an idea. If I could show students that their dream job involved some form of mathematics, I could change their mindset toward the subject altogether. This is where Why Math Matters was born. Upon research, I found that my students are not the only people who have a negative mindset toward mathematics. In a recent study by Texas Instruments, 54% of middle school/high school said that they hated, disliked, or were indifferent toward math. This statistic is concerning and needs to be changed. I hope to show my students and others that math matters in all professions. In January of 2021, I started interviewing people of different professions to see how they use math in their careers. I recorded the interviews, started a YouTube channel, and shared the videos on both Facebook and Instagram. Since the launch of Why Math Matters in January, I have interviewed 21 professionals from all over the United States, including a chef de cuisine, a respiratory therapist, a lawyer, and many more. Each interviewee was asked to explain how they felt about math as a student, and how that opinion changed as they progressed in their professional careers. Why Math Matters has already had a huge impact on my classroom and community, but this is just the beginning... |