Word Problems Reading Response

This article spends a lot of time discussing pure vs. applied math and how the form that questions are written in may not be enough to fully determine whether it is a pure or applied question. It seems that the reason Babylonians used questions that appeared to be about practical math to ask non practical or more abstract problems was because these word problems were how they expressed all math. However, the ancient Greeks were able to express their pure math problems using symbolic notation which we would consider to be a more “pure math” way of writing these problems. We however, often use word problems in classrooms even when the topic we are discussing is not an applied math topic despite the fact that we, unlike the Babylonians, do not express all math problems in this way.

I think one of the main motivations behind creating word problems that are phrased as if they are something that could happen in real life but, that are actually so removed from reality that they are simply pure math problems is that teachers are trying to prove that what is taught in a math class is relevant to their students. I am not sure if this is the best way to prove relevance. We often feel the need to tie everything that is taught in a math classroom to a real-life skill. In the case where what we are teaching is something students will actually be able to use and apply in there day to day lives I think it is an excellent idea to highlight this fact. However, when what we are teaching is less applicable to day-to-day life I think that the creation of word problems that attempt to tie the content to real life without actually addressing a situation that would ever actually happen is not useful. I feel it would be much better to be honest with students. If the only reason students are ever given for learning math is that they will need it for day-to-day life I think we are not letting them realize the full value of the subject. Not every student will develop an appreciation for the beauty of math, nor will every student want to study math beyond school. However, exposing them to the fact that math is beautiful and interesting all on its own without practical application and that it is something they may want to continue to take interest in once they leave school seems to me to be valuable. Even though not every student enjoys art we do not tell them that they will need it for day-to-day life, instead we tell them that creativity and beauty are important on their own. I think when we teach subjects in math that won’t be relevant to the majority of students beyond the interest, they invoke that we should be honest about that. Instead of trying to tie everything to practical applications we should try and highlight how math can be inherently valuable on its own.