When I walk into calculus every day, the first thing I see is a bulletin board behind my seat that says "When will I need this?" with a bunch of mathematical concepts listed underneath. These are concepts learned across both pre-calculus and calculus, such as matrices, quadratic equations, and derivatives. Below each one is a list of five to ten professions in which they will be used, most frequently engineering, programming, mechanics, and applied sciences. I stare at it constantly, asking myself “Why?” over and over again.
My passions include what I plan to major and minor in come next year: American Sign Language, journalism, and photography. All three potential areas of study require very little math outside of my general education courses, let alone advanced concepts such as how to take the first and second derivatives of a function. Day after day, I am reminded that I am spending an hour of my life doing something that I'll never once touch after my final exam and graduation since nothing even mildly related to my career or simple interests is located on the wall.
Why must I spend hours learning these concepts?
The first argument often made against my simple question is that higher level math (and math in general) will help me develop critical thinking skills, an argument that is totally valid and I myself agree with. I have taken advanced and honors level algebra, geometry, precalculus, trigonometry, and I am now in AP Calculus. It’s been ten weeks since I started this class. Aside from small-scale frustrations and difficulties, calculus has proven to be the easiest of all the math courses I’ve taken thus far in my academic career. At first, I was convinced I was doing something wrong, but because I've developed enough of the crucial skills needed to decipher tougher tasks and apply them already, I've hit a plateau. In calculus, I'm simply applying those skills, not learning as many new ones as I had thought I might.
Yes, applications are how you truly learn to use concepts, which is where the second argument comes in. While I again agree that I should be applying these skills in order to strengthen them, why apply them to something like calculus, a subject I’ll most likely never need again, when I could put those skills to use with something a bit more useful, like budgeting, paying taxes, or anything related to accounting? When I graduate, I’d like to walk away with more applicable mathematical knowledge than I foresee happening. The education system has many strengths and many flaws, and one of the most prominent flaws is that I am going to leave high school knowing how to use the Pythagorean theorem, find the derivative of a function, recite all the trigonometric values of the unit circle, and- my favorite part- do all of this and more without a calculator. Honestly, when will I not have the ability to use one? If I’m ever in the woods about to be attacked by a bear, but told my life will be spared should I be able to find the secant of 3 pi divided by 4 without a calculator, I’ll revoke anything negative I have ever said about non-calculator tests. Until then, why can’t I use one?
The third and final argument against my point is that while I may not like math, someone else might. If it wasn’t required, these people may never be exposed to what they are truly good at and love. This is a flawed argument, though. Since the eighth grade, I have wanted to pursue American Sign Language interpreting. It is my passion, what I am good at, and what I want to continue working at forever. Aside from an elective course that I myself designed and completed, I haven't had a day of instructional classroom time within school. I took courses outside of school through a separate language institute. It is entirely possible to get inspiration and find out what you are good at and love to do without being exposed to it through the school system.
All that said, I know I must stick it out for the duration of the year and do my best to succeed in calculus. Despite not needing it down the road, I need it now, and that's what matters. I will, however, continue to ask what I have thus far questioned: why can't I spend an hour of my day every day learning something just a bit more useful?
