Mathematics
“Why
do I have to study algebra? I’m never going to use this stuff ever
again!” We have all heard a youngster say something like this at one
time or another. Perhaps we said it ourselves when we were in school.
Adults, hearing this, make haste in vain to find an example of the use
of algebra in everyday life. The truth is, and every parent and teacher
knows it, that many of the young people who struggle through algebra,
geometry, and trigonometry will never see those problems or work with
those formulas again in their lives.
So what is the right defense for pursuing the study of mathematics beyond basic arithmetic?
First
-- and the student cannot be expected to understand this -- a working
knowledge of advanced mathematics (including perhaps algebra and
geometry) is an indispensable part of a complete education. To be an
educated man or woman in the western tradition, a student must master
the basics of these subjects.
Second, mathematics is
a beautiful collection of algorithms, quantities, and figures that
precisely communicate volumes, distances, weights and measures, ratios
and proportions, and angles. Mathematics has been called the language
of science because it deals with the physical universe—it reveals the
beauty and order of the Creation. But math has also been of the
greatest interest as a tool of western philosophy. A very good
understanding of math is an important tool of philosophical inquiry.
Third,
math should be studied for its own sake. Math is often viewed as a
means to an end. Most modern texts justify the study of math with
discussions of the demand for scientists in our hi-tech world. Students
are told to learn math well because it will help them get into a good
engineering school or obtain a high-paying tech-sector job later in
life. This is not the best motivation. For some students it will serve
as no motivation at all. Students are students. That is to say,
students should not concern themselves with whether or not they will
use math later in life. The point is that right now, as they are
expanding their horizons and gaining a view of the immensity and
minutiae of God’s universe, mathematics is a vital component. The
point, in other words, is that though they may not need math in a
future occupation, they need it right now as preparation for the study
of the wonder of matter and the material world which is mathematical at
its core. Mastery of mathematics is the goal today. Conclusion
Students
in the Schools of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric are required to take a
math course. Students are placed in the math course that is appropriate
for their level of mastery. Math may be taken as an elective in the
School Poetics.
|