5/4/2014 Mathematics in Todays World

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MathematicsinTodaysWorld
(PDF)
Intoday'sworld,wearebombardedwithdatathatmustbeabsorbed,sorted,organized,andusedtomake
decisions.Theunderpinningsofeverydaylife,suchasmakingpurchases,choosinginsuranceorhealthplans,
andplanningforretirement,allrequiremathematicalcompetence.Businessandindustryneedworkerswhocan
solverealworldproblems,explaintheirthinkingtoothers,identifyandanalyzetrendsindata,andusemodern
technology.
RecentdatafromtheBureauofLaborandStatisticsrevealthatmorestudentsmustpursuemathematicaland
technicaloccupations.Employmentprojectionsto2010expecttheseoccupationstoaddthemostjobsandgrow
thefastestamongtheeightprofessionalandrelatedoccupationalsubgroups(Hecker2001).Butwillenough
qualifiedworkersbeavailabletofilltheprojected2millionpositions?Sixtypercentofallnewjobsintheearly
twentyfirstcenturywillrequireskillsthatarepossessedbyonly20percentofthecurrentworkforce(National
CommissiononMathematicsandSciencefortheTwentyfirstCentury2000).Whateveryourchildchoosestodo
inlife,youcanbecertainthathavingastrongunderstandingofmathematicswillopendoorstoaproductive
future.
Masteringchallengingmathematicsisnotjustaclassroomskillit'salifeskill!
WhyisMathImportantforourStudents?
(PDF)
Today'sstudentsmustmasteradvancedskillsinmathematics,science,andtechnologytostayontrackfor
collegeandforpromisingcareers.Mathematicsteacheswaysofthinkingthatareessentialtoworkandciviclife.
Studentswhotakealgebraandgeometrygoontocollegeatmuchhigherratesthanthosewhodonot
(83%vs.36%).
Mostfouryearcollegesrequirethreetofouryearseachofhighschoolmathandscienceforadmission.
Almost90%ofallnewjobsrequiremathskillsbeyondthehighschoollevel.
Entrylevelautomobileworkersmustuseadvancedmathematicsformulastowireacar'selectrical
circuits.
Strongmathskillsareneededforunderstandinggraphs,charts,andopinionpollsinanewspaper,for
calculatinghouseandcarpayments,andforchoosingalongdistancetelephoneservice.
FromAFamily'sGuide:FosteringYourChild'sSuccessinSchoolMathematics.Copyright2004TheNational
CouncilofTeachersofMathematics,Inc.www.nctm.org.Allrightsreserved.Thismaterialmaynotbe
distributedelectronicallywithoutwrittenpermissionfromNCTM.
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Copyright2014,NationalCouncilofTeachersofMathematics.