Students usually divide their academic orientation into two categories: the logical “Mathematics & Science” type or the creative “Humanities” type. This dichotomous method can be seen to have a large influence on the parents in various ways. Parents tell them to decide what type of child their child is from their point of view and choose a major or career. However, we are living in an era where talented people who cross over multiple fields are successful rather than one type. Hence, Let’s try to understand the importance of math in early childhood education.
Significance of Mathematics
The future depends on logical and creative gifted people who cross various fields. In Silicon Valley, we can notice one point while advising global corporations such as Google, Apple, and Samsung. That is America’s best talents freely cross the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) to find connections.
If you are curious about where the world is heading, you can already guess how important STEAM is to our future and the future of our children. STEAM is our daily life that can be found everywhere. Consider, for example, a smartphone. Ten years ago, we had to buy cameras, laptops, cell phones, maps, camcorders, and radios separately, but now everything can be done with a single smartphone. The science and technology contained in this little machine in your hand are made possible by engineering solutions and artistically applied to create beautiful smartphones. And this is one of the key importance of math in society.
The title of this article is “Is Mathematics Really an Important Subject?” to be. Mathematics is the most basic language of all STEAM. Simply put, mathematics is definitely an important subject, as it helps you to know how to crack competitive exams easily. So let’s take a closer look at how important it is.
Relevance of Mathematics
Let’s think about our children’s future jobs and careers. Mathematics is important for a STEAM-related career. The same is true in literature and chemistry. Mathematics is also an integral part of engineering, programming, and web development. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Labor, STEAM-related careers will increase by more than 17% over the next decade.
But did you know that math is also important in law, medicine, and business besides STEAM? I would like to stress, not a little, that mathematics is fundamentally very important in these fields as well. Thus, we can’t ignore the importance of math for students.
According to a survey by the National Educational Institute, among 500,000 college students majoring in mathematics, students who majored in mathematics scored significantly better on the LAST (law school admission test), MCAT (medical graduate school admission test), and GMAT (business school admission test). This is not very surprising. Logic, critical thinking, and intellectual abilities develop as students study mathematics. Therefore, it can be seen that mathematics is helpful in other fields of study as well like government job preparation, winning Olympiad, etc.
Finally, I would like to give another example. In the United States, the highest-paid jobs after graduating from college are in financial institutions and banks. The average starting salary is $112,000. Thus, it can be argued that all the smartest university graduates will go into these fields, most of the economics or finance-related majors. Both fields require mathematics as compulsory.
Final Remark
So, whether your child is pursuing a STEAM-related career or not, it is clear that math is a very important subject. If your child is not good at math, it is important to get help right away and to build the basics. We all know the importance of math as mathematics is an incremental subject, so the later you start, the harder it is to keep up.
Whether you like math or hate it, it’s important to teach your child to develop mathematical comprehension over the long term. Many parents, unsure of the nature of Common Core practice, want their children to do more reviews and solve math problems. But this will not help your child. You can improve your math scores in a short period of time, but your child will soon dislike math.
So, how can parents help their children? American students tend to fail to win prizes in world-class math competitions such as the World Math Olympiad (WMO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). The Common Core standard is nothing short of a measure against the low educational attainment rate in the United States. Many parents feel like their children are being used for experiments, like guinea pigs. My advice is not to stick to short-term goals. Instead, I recommend to you to invest in your child’s long-term growth and success in math.
