Why Study Algebra?

[agzg]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

It's great to get the principles down in MS/HS so that you understand when to use certain functions. I was a working professional in college, though, so when a professor tells me "In the real world, you can't use a calculator," I find it hard to take him/her seriously.

LOL yeah - I don't use a calculator. I use an excel sheet.

But you have to understand the concepts to put it in your calculator (or excel sheet) correctly.

Also, if he ever gets a part time job he'll use it to figure out how much he makes a week, or to figure out an hourly rate for overtime, anything that takes more than one step.

And if he ever uses a budget. Or makes investments. Or pays his taxes. Anything that's not simple arithmetic or uses algebraic concepts in some way.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by agzg

LOL yeah - I don't use a calculator. I use an excel sheet.

But you have to understand the concepts to put it in your calculator (or excel sheet) correctly.

Right, which is why I think it's helpful to "show your work" in MS/HS.

If I told my boss to hold on while I showed my work to figure out the future valaue of an investment, he's spit on me and then fire me. The "scare tactics" that professors tried to give us (since many of the students were full-time students with no jobs) were BS and that turned me off to many of the assignments.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by agzg

Also, game designers use math A LOT, and A LOT of algebra - so if he likes video games, that might be a way to relate. People who write computer programs use all sorts of math, including algebra.

Very true. He loves video games, so his teacher tried this one. The answer he got was "I don't care how they come up with them. I just like to play them." Oy.

(Meanwhile, mom and I have added our own style of motivation. No video games at all on school days -- the "old" rule was no more than one hour of "screen time" on school days -- unless and until we, his teacher and his tutor see improvement. He doesn't have to start making As all of a sudden, but we have to see that he's trying his best.)

Originally Posted by agzg

Something as simple as figuring out what you need to tip (total times .2 equals x) is a good example of algebra. . . . .Also, baking! How do you double or halve a recipe?

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

From figuring out tips (divide by ten then add half to get to 15%), . . . . to adjusting recipes for fewer or more servings than the original calls for, to estimating project timelines, to figuring out how far it is from point A to point B, or reading a "to scale" map, I absolutely use math on a regular basis.

Right, but these are all basic math -- for the most part standard addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. He has that stuff down. He gets how he'll use that kind of math throughout his life. He doesn't get how he'll use algebra -- e.g., linear equations, to use what they're working on now -- in everyday life.


There's some good food for thought here. Thanks, everyone and keep them coming.