'When will I ever use this?', is a question that may get thrown around quite often in a classroom. Our first response may have something to do with a connection between the subject matter and a future task, job or career. We may try to connect it to something fun that our students may encounter and try later on in life, or we may talk about how it has changed the world thus far. Either way, it is always nice to sit back and appreciate the work others have done in the field. Math is all around us and it really is the universal language (just ask Jodie Foster in Contact).We may not realize how much of the world around us is governed by different mathematical principles...so here's a quick little montage of some of the beauties of math.
You are totally right! And I loved that movie with Jodie Foster. Students really can't run away from math, so might as well like it! Whether they will be fork lift driver or a builder of a truck, all still calculate how much they are making, paying bills, and so forth. I try to randomly show different 3-5 min videos every 2 weeks or so, relating math to everyday life; so students get it engrained in their minds, that math is a friend.
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