Did you know that 93% of people experience some level of math anxiety? Rock Point School math teacher Leda Sommerville certainly does! Leda is passionate about helping kids love math, “We're living in a world where competitive math and rote memorization early on have turned kids off to math or created a false belief that some can and some cannot ‘do’ math. We're here, together in this classroom, to smash that myth.”
Leda does this in her classroom by linking abstract concepts to real-life scenarios and offering activities with different levels of possible engagement. Her Pre-Calc class works to explore the applications of mathematics in financial literacy and conic sections. This approach engages students by helping them understand how math is used in the world around them and increases their practical life skills. In the first semester, students have been learning budgeting principles, participating in activities to allocate resources effectively, and engaging with budget simulation exercises to understand personal finance strategies and decision-making. This includes learning about loans and interest rates and applying mathematical concepts to situations like buying a car, budgeting for future expenses, and assessing personal spending habits. All Core 3 students are also taking part in a class challenge in investing, using a program that allows them to invest, buy, and sell stocks and mutual funds in real time using actual market data and track their earnings or losses.
As they move forward, their work will continue with applications of their knowledge of the rules of exponents and exponential growth models to look at logarithms and graphic modeling. Students will also continue working on their mock budgets, where they research available jobs, housing options, and transportation costs in cities of their choosing to determine spending/saving goals.
There are many advantages to teaching math this way. Teens who don't consider themselves "math people" can become engaged as they look at future incomes and choices. Learning these topics in high school helps students as they set out on their own and make personal financial decisions.