To think the school system is ridiculous

Maths is about teaching you how to set up and solve problems logically. You have to build the foundations and skills in a formulaic way. It looks like it’s been the same way for 100 years because that’s how you start with counting, move on to basic manipulations, algebra, calculus, and beyond. It’s not done that way because it’s designed to be boring, it’s designed to introduce concepts in a way that you can build up to handling things that are more complex. You can’t for example talk about percentage changes without talking about division. You can’t talk about decimals without learning what the real line is. You can’t talk about Hamiltonians, Lagrangians, etc without talking about algebra.

I actually did set up some pen and paper simultaneous equations the other day to see if I could fit a piece of furniture diagonally in a van, and at what angle of tilt the furniture could be accommodated as it was too tall to go in either vertically or horizontally.

I make >200k a year as a quant. I have to know about quadratic equations because it is the foundation of quadratic optimisation, which is the grandfather of most modern computational optimisation. It is so fundamental to so many processes that you will encounter every day. Any time you use any kind of electronics or machinery, there will be some QCQP going on under the hood somewhere.

I also doubt that ‘financial maths’ if it were taught in school would have any utility whatsoever. The kids who piss around in normal maths will piss around in that too, and continue to have misplaced pride in their innumeracy.

Are you really in your mid-thirties, OP? Because your tone of writing really evokes an outraged teenager who thinks life is just so unfair.

I always liked the analogy of a rugby player lifting weights in the gym. They don't lift weights in the same way during a game, but it exercises and strengthens the muscles. In the same way, maths strengthens the brain - yes, most of us don't use algebra in day to day life, but we use the same logical approach to problem solving/ thinking rationally about problems/ encourages us to understand fundamentals in arguments. All worthwhile skills

The majority of posters on this thread disagree with you - and yet you think you, and the two or three who do agree with you, are right.

Talking of arrogance .....

Apparently universities are having to reduce reading lists on courses because you g people are struggling to read, infer and retain. Thats really worrying. Critical thinking skills require you to be able to retain information and knowledge to be able to manipulate later to find an answer. This idea that you don’t need to be able to use recall is to me a really strange idea. What good would your doctor be of she hadn’t bothered to learn anything by heart and had to google it.

In Scotland 16- -18 year olds can choose to study traditional Maths or Applications of Maths, which is the more functional everyday maths. Both at Nat 5 and Higher levels (roughly GCSE and A Level),
www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/81282.html

That's basic multiplication/division.

200gx4=800g. Price divided by 8 gives you the price per 100g. 200gx6 =1200. Price divided by 12 gives you the price per 100g. No equations needed whatsoever. Also most shops show the price per 100g on the shelf label!!!

Some aspects of maths are useful in every day life or in various jobs. But I'd agree that the maths syllabus for GCSE is far too full of deeply theoretical stuff that doesn't have any real world application and will never be used. And the fact that young people are required to keep resitting exams which statistically a percentage will never pass is pointless and hugely demoralising. If they fail once they should immediately be put onto functional skills instead unless there is real evidence they just needed more practice.

I use algebra every day. I work in marketing.

My wish list :
That primary schools in the UK would teach children at least one other language to fluency .
Also for both Primary & Secondary to teach First Aid & CPR & repeat every year from year 6 to 13 . Teach young people NEVER to leave anyone who is drunk / been taking drugs at a party or gathering on their back but to turn them on their side so they don’t die if they’re sick .
Teach Physics and Chemistry properly so that every child realises they have the ability to understand and love these subjects .
Teach a love and appreciation of nature & make school grounds beautiful, peaceful places .

You need a certain body of knowledge to be able to build on at higher levels. Everyone uses some sort of maths, algebra has been useful in my household, pythagorus formula for example.

As a way of thinking I use it all the time. Being able to generalise something, as opposed to understand just one, specific example, is very useful and algebra does that.

Silly me, trained as an economist and working as a data scientist. Using algebra, trig, and calculus every day.

I didn’t plan to do much with maths in my career, but I shifted gears early on in university and never looked back.

These skills are more essential than ever. Anyone who wants to work with statistics or data needs to have a good understanding of mathematics.

Many jobs are ruled by data analytics these days, even if they aren’t the primary focus of the job.

Workers who think this has nothing to do with them are being scored and analyzed by systems put in place by their employers. Systems that analyze efficiency in multiple ways. Well educated workers can better understand the systems that are being used to judge them and control their livelihood.

I've used algebra at least twice today. Firstly for a diy project to work out the number of fittings needed to compete a job and to figure out which of several options was the most cost cost effective way to buy what I needed (multi packs with variations in the number of each item i needed in them).

I didn't think at the time "oh, I'm using algebra" but that's what it was. You probably do the same without realising.

I’m a computer programmer and use algebra throughout my work. Anyone doing anything related to computer science needs algebra.

Agree

Maybe I should use algebra instead of my rough guess which often leaves me with enough to feed the street 😬😂 (I actually loved maths at school).

Algebra is so completely irrelevant in this day and age.

What day and age was it more relevant ? You reckon it was more useful 20, 50 or 80 years ago?

The more you know or use your brain the better surely. And teaching a variety of ways of thinking : maths, music, English, woodwork, art whatever seems sensible.

Counting change is algebra, if you actually look you’ll be surprised how often you actually use algebra.

My entire career relies on maths, I’d be fairly buggered if I had received a substandard education in maths.

My dd did GCSEs last year and I was shocked how similar her experience was to mine. It felt like education hadn’t bothered to keep up with employer skill needs. For example, GCSE geography you have to memorise a lot of case study facts. Useful in a pub quiz but outside of that, in any workplace, that info is easily accessible and what we need employees to do is be able to challenge facts and critically appraise or make use of the information. Even English, they have to memorise pens and quotes from massive books that might help them to illustrate a point.

I think the focus is on the wrong skills. But dd2&3 are about to start GCSEs and I’m not sharing that opinion because that wouldn’t be helpful.

Doctor. Use it every day in drug calculations. Brother is an engineer, obviously uses it daily.

I use it decorating the house, to work out how much paint to buy. What do you do, buy a 5 litre tin per wall and hope it doesn’t run out?Gardening, to work out how much to dilute lawn feed by. We’re laying a lawn in autumn, I’ll use geometry and algebra to work out how much topsoil and how many runs of turf to order. I don’t actually know how anyone gets through the day without using algebra.

What an original thought. There certainly aren’t hundreds of threads on Mumsnet dating back years about exactly the same topic.

Sorry but saying algebra is irrelevant just shows your ignorance towards the subject.

It is about the pathways that are opened up in the brain, not just the curriculum content.