Regardless of your path of study, we all asked ourselves the same question: “I will never need this subject, why am I learning it?” We typically hear complaints in regards to math, as a classic joke follows “I do not know how to do taxes but thank god I know the Pythagorean theorem”.
These complaints make perfect sense. Why should a future engineer take English when it is not needed? Why does someone studying theater need science? I am a studying political science; do I really need math?
A lot of people agree that a general well-rounded education is important, as it is. Anyone going into any professional career should have some broad knowledge alongside a strong focus on their career path. Additionally, a general education allows people to seriously decide their future, as an exposure to all subjects make change people’s minds. That was certainly the case for me, as I switched from history to political science.
However, that is college, and most students are in a lower educational level. Do we really need to teach younger students information that may be considered random, or should we focus on educating the youth by preparing them for the real world?
I understand that teaching the civil war and the area of a circle may seem pointless to a person’s success. When will I even need to know that the bourgeoisie oppressed the proletariat in my life. I am not going to apply for a loan and write “The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell” in order to seem more applicable.
However, teaching a broad range of subjects for preschool on offers something much more than what people realize. Each subject gives the student a specific skill that can be used later in life.
Math teaches students problem solving skills and gives the children the ability to approach a situation from many different angles.
Science allows the students to understand and reason with all situations. They comprehend why things happen, so therefore, the world becomes less ambiguous.
Social Studies gives the students the ability to analyze situations and other people. We become more empathetic with an understanding of this subject.
English provides communication and writing skills. All good people can communicate their feelings successfully with other people, and in return, they understand other peoples’ logic and opinions.
These useful strengths do not only originate from the four core subjects, as we learn other skills from all subjects provided in schools.
Art teaches creativity.
Music teaches coordination and precision.
Physical Education provides the students’ physical limits and ways to be healthy.
While yes, most of us will not use the facts we learned in school in the real world (unless we were trying to impress other people with our knowledge). However, the schools provide a place for the skills to be developed. The subjects give the students to apply these abilities in their purest form. Additionally, it is nearly impossible to teach these skills otherwise, as the situations they are used towards tend to be random or we simply do not realize we are using these skills.
So yes, while this may be the last time you will be writing y=mx+b on a paper, it is not the last time you will be using the skills that came from a basic understanding of math.
