Why are American Citizens so Ignorant Towards Simple Math?

In Ms. Mariner's post about math illiteracy, she brought up some everyday points that I had never thought about before.  One would think that simple things such as 4 quarters (not 3) makes a whole or 100% is the maximum would be easy concepts for someone to grasp.  It amazes me how our society is ignorant to such simple intelligence.  A relatable topic, although not related to math, is when people cannot use simple grammar correctly.  This shows up in speech, but even more so in text messages.  I try my best to send grammatically correct texts and naturally, I do not and have never used any of the text slang such as "u," "lol," "jk," or things of the sort.  In the same manner, our society puts little effort into being mathematically correct.

One large reason that I think we brush off being mathematically correct is because a lot of people do not think that math applies.  They do not think that it is useful.  These (ironically) are the people who cannot do simple math!  However, the issue is not that the math does not apply, it is that people in today's society do not apply it correctly. 

Calculators and other technologies that do simple math for us are magnificent luxuries, but I believe that they also hurt our ability to do simple math.  I appreciate the teachers who, rather than saying "Pull out your calculator!" when figuring out a fairly simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division problem, say "Do it in your head!"  Haviing the ability to do simple mental math is another way that we can apply math to our everyday lives.

It is all about the application.

My First Blog!

In response to the "Jammnpeaches" blog:

I really enjoyed reading this post! It was an interesting task to think about how this might apply to math class.  I believe that an important aspect of the story was that you never know what is going to happen, so why not try it?  When solving a problem in math, do not just give up right away.  You have to give it a try.  You never know what may or may not work, unless you have tried it! I believe that this story was shared so that we can set the tone for an open hearted, willing to try attitude from the beginning of math.  That was super neat!

Math and Me:

Sometime towards the beginning of last year, I decided that I liked math, a lot. Most people, when asked what their favorite subject is, will respond with the subject that they are most successful at.  If you were to ask me what my favorite subject is, I will tell you math.  However, I then will proceed to tell you that math is not my best subject.  For me, there is a big difference.

I thoroughly enjoy math, because, well, it makes me feel smart.  I love the feeling of finding a solution, especially after trying (and failing) many times before.  I like math because it really makes me think.  There are so many ways to get to a result, and I find it simply fascinating to explore the endless possibilities that lead people to (usually) the same result.  It is so neat to see how other people's minds work and when you listen to their ideas and solutions that are different from yours, you will find that you are both correct, even though you reached a solution in ways completely unique from each other.

Last school year, I struggled with Algebra.  I got by with an easily passing grade; however I never fully understood everything that I was taught.  When we moved into Geometry in semester 2, it immediately clicked with me.  Although this is very different from most of my peers, I love proofs.  I love thinking through it logically, and seeing it all make sense.  It gives me a grand sense of accomplishment, when I can find one, or even two or more ways to prove something.

Math may not be easy for me, but it absolutely fascinates me!