Math advocates argue relevance
Math Field Day, advanced classes offer application opportunities
By Madison Dooley,
Writer
April 14, 2009
Throughout 12 years of school, math principles change from "2+2" in elementary school to "solve for x" in junior high to finding the probability of a geometric series in high school. While these concepts can seem overwhelming, they are defended as valuable by math teachers and fans.
Many students struggle in math, thinking, "When will I ever use this material later on in life?" Michael Fenton, head of the campus math department, says math shows up in professional and private situations regardless of career choice.
"Even though my job is teaching math, I have used math in other situations besides in the classroom," Fenton said. "When I bought my house, I used math to figure out loans, what I could afford, interest rate numbers and maintaining my budget and taxes."
Fenton says calculus in particular is recognized anywhere there is change, which gives students an unusual glimpse of the world around them, sometimes without realizing they are using math.
"Calculus is the study of change," Fenton said. "It's always nice and cool to understand the world around you. The light in a classroom emits heat — that's calculus. When someone leaves the classroom — that's calculus."
In addition to simple understanding, advanced math classes can sometimes influence colleges' impressions of students' applications.
"Even though my job is teaching math, I have used math in other situations besides in the classroom. When I bought my house, I used math to figure out loans, what I could afford, interest rate numbers and maintaining my budget and taxes." —Michael Fenton, head of the math department
"One of the main reasons students should take math class is to get into a better college," Fenton said. "You will also have a higher paying job."
Stephen Prince, '09, says math fails to catch his interest because of its lack of application in his life.
"You just want to give up on it sometimes because things like imaginary numbers don't exist," Prince said. "It's not like I'm ever going to need to know the quadratic equation [later on in life]."
Although Prince does not believe in the class' relevance, pre-calculus student Ricky Lopez, '11, finds math fun.
"It's always [concrete], unlike subjects such as English, where structures [and ideas] change all the time," Lopez said. "Plus, [I like math because] I want to do something involving math after high school."
In order for students to experience math in a new context, the annual Math Field Day will be held on April 18 at California State University, Fresno. The event is available to all math students, but required for those in honors or AP math classes. If not able to attend, honors students must write a five-page research paper on a math-related topic.
"During Math Field Day, students will have the opportunity to participate in math outside of the classroom," Fenton said. "It gives someone a taste of a different experience."
For more information, e-mail Michael Fenton or read the April 25, 2007, article, Class questions math relevance. For past coverage of Math Field Day, visit the April 24, 2007, article, Campus wins multiple math awards.
Friday, May 08, 2009
By Nika Nabifar
May 8, 2009 -- The economy is at its worst state since the 1930s and for many work clearly seems to be out of sight, but certainly not out of mind. For sixteen-year-old sophomore, Olivia Vickson, the search for a job has been tougher than ever. With age, work hours, and the fact that the economy is spiraling down into the abyss, finding somewhere to work seems to be, frankly, too much work. Not only does this fall in the economy affect the daily lives’ of adults, it is affecting students all around campus.
“I would like a job because I want money to be able to drive. I might have to pay for car insurance. Money will give me more freedom,” she says. Earning money does bring a sense of freedom since the spending of it depends entirely on the person.
However, the economy’s condition is making the search and conquest hard. Keeping a job takes extra strength and finding one is even tougher. “I believe in luck, and I find that my luck can get me pretty far. It’s not impossible, it’s more luck and who is where first,” Vickson said in regards to her views on obtaining a job.
Luck is a factor, but there’s also the fact that so many older people are getting laid-off or fired and the part-time jobs are being taken over, leaving fewer open positions for teenagers. In a report filed by the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies, last summer was deemed the worst teen employment market in six decades. For teens alike, jobs seem to be a no-go as the economy has plummeted into the worst recession in half a century. According to the Bureau of Labors Statistics, the unemployment rate for teens has risen from 15.5 in March 2008 to 21.5 in March 2009, a surprising high.
Scouting out a job that accepts teenagers is already difficult, but nowadays with the increased minimum wage, fewer companies are hiring minors. “I've already gotten a no from the Glendale Youth Alliance and stationary shop only because of my age,” Vickson says. “We live in a hypocrital society, they say work, but have too many restrictions. I’m probably going to apply to ten and get only one, if I'm lucky.”
While a recession in the economy isn’t as severe as a depression, times are still tough. Thoughts of finally being able to earn their own money and finally gaining the experience of a job are slim at best. On the sunny side of things however, jobs are beginning to look up for the summer. The 2009 Stimulus Act is providing $1.2 billion for youth activities, which in turn will create one million summer jobs for youths. As Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke said, the worst of the recession will end later this year and recovery will slowly begin.
Middle-school Math Classes Are Key To Closing Racial Academic Achievement Gap
ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2009) — More challenging middle-school math classes and increased access to advanced courses in predominantly black urban high schools may be the key to closing the racial academic achievement gap, according to a University of Illinois study.
"Although we've poured a lot of money and resources into trying to reduce inequalities between black and white students, we've mainly focused on test scores and that hasn't been successful," said Christy Lleras, a U of I assistant professor of human and community development.
Why target middle-school math? Lleras said there's a feedback loop between math placement, student effort, and academic achievement.
"Over time, these three factors affect each other. Students who take more advanced math courses in middle school lengthen their lead over time, and the positive school-related behaviors developed in those advanced courses lead to even higher achievement.
"But the opposite is also true. Lower math placement in middle school significantly lowers a student's chances of getting into higher-level math courses in high school, which translates into fewer skills and behaviors and greater achievement gaps in high school," she said.
These gaps are largest in high-minority urban schools. "For kids in predominantly black urban schools, the biggest predictor of the math course they took in high school was the math course they took in eighth grade. For all other students, the biggest predictor was their prior achievement, not the course they took," she noted.
Lleras used data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Educational Longitudinal Study to follow the effects of math placement, school-related behaviors, and achievement in more than 6,500 public school students as they progressed from the eighth to the tenth grade.
Transcript data indicated the highest-level math course the student had taken at these levels. Math achievement was measured via tests given at the end of these school years. And engagement and effort were measured by teachers' evaluations of the student's attentiveness, disruptiveness, and homework habits.
Lleras believes that increased access to more advanced and rigorous math classes in high-minority urban schools can have a significant direct effect on all students' achievement and particularly that of African American students.
"Being in a classroom where the expectations are higher, the course work is more rigorous, and the climate is more academic has huge effects on student effort," she said.
Lleras worries that lower-performing schools will concentrate on teaching to the tests mandated by No Child Left Behind.
"Instead of focusing on test scores, we may be better able to affect educational trajectories by improving teacher quality and reducing class sizes, which helps to create school climates that foster both academic learning and student effort," she said.
Because racial achievement gaps were already significant by eighth grade, Lleras believes educators must begin to address gaps in achievement and opportunities to learn much earlier.
She argues that universal preschool and expansion of Head Start would go a long way toward reducing early racial inequalities because early-childhood programs tend to affect student-related attitudes and engagement more than achievement test scores.
"Children can't learn new material until they have the toolkit of skills and school-related behaviors to do so," she said.
"Then we have to make a sustained effort to keep these children learning over time. We need a persistent and additional effort to support urban minority students through tutoring programs and improved access to challenging material and high-quality teachers," she said.
"This study was a snapshot of three years in these kids' lives, and in just three years, they were falling farther and farther behind," she added.
The study was published in a recent issue of the American Educational Research Journal.
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