Friday, April 25, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.
Regarding Jeannie Jackson’s Wednesday letter, headlined “Daily life doesn’t require much math”:
I can understand if she’s frustrated with the system today, but would she really want our kids to study “that which they enjoy and is actually needed for future problem solving”? I mean, why study chemistry? Art? For that matter, Shakespeare?
What if the batteries failed in that calculator and the owner didn’t know how to change them? How about if he went out to buy batteries and wanted to know which was the better deal, 99 cents each or three for $2.50?
Subjects such as algebra and calculus (my nemesis), which may appear to be unnecessary in daily life, require the student to think, visualize, to use his problem-solving abilities.
I, too, had an experience at a 99 cent store this one was in California. I put a six-pack of soda on the counter. The kid picked it up, looked it over, put it down and got on the speaker: “Price check on a six-pack of Coke.”
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