Real Life & Algebra
We spend a fair amount of time talking about homework in our house - why it's important, the link between practice and proficiency, taking responsibility for what you accomplish. In other words, we have become our parents.
I've gone so far as to prepare for the "why should I take algebra?" fight I'll inevitably have with the kids.
In our family, everyone who’s ever taken algebra thinks that they’ll never use it in “real life.” I've concluded this is faulty thinking. What you use in life won’t be set up as a theorem in the classic sense, but you’ll need to learn how to solve for missing pieces. In fact, I think algebra is all about life. Here’s what algebra taught me other than algebra:
- Life gives you problems with missing pieces and you still have to solve the problem.
- Problem-solving can be frustrating, tedious, and difficult, but the process will shape you (abdominal crunches work the same way).
- A “win” is in the process, not necessarily the product.
Still, I expect the kids to complain about whether or not algebra is relevant; it’s a rite of passage. However, I think they’ll eventually find that they can use what algebra teaches in life every day.
I'll also be telling them where "x" came from, thanks to the TED talk below. This video is one of my favorite bits of math trivia. The answer comes at the end of the video!