Why Do We Have To Learn Math?
I hear it from kids all the time: Why do we have to learn math?
What good is it?
We're never gonna use it!
But, I can tell you about a time when my knowledge of fractions came in handy...
I was doing my banking at Fifth Third Bank, a US regional bank, with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.
As of December, 2010, the bank had 21,613 employees in 10 states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Not a small bank!
But, about that name...
I could probably come up with about a thousand better bank names than Fifth Third Bank.
Who came up with that, anyway?
What's it even mean??
Then one eye-opening day, I thought, "wait a minute...Fifth-Third Bank...
That's about two-thirds too much!
All I really need is a whole bank!"
And I subsequently switched to another bank...a WHOLE BANK, thank you very much...and I would never have had those deep and insightful observations without a working knowledge of fractions!
And that's why we learn math, boys and girls.
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As a musician, you apply mathematical applications every time you sing. Your students are lucky to have you. I am certain you make learning fun for them. Great educators inspire students for a life time. I have no doubt that you are one of those educators.
I have to admit math was not my favorite subject in school. But now it's impossible to survive without knowing math.
Thank you for the blog post Rick, what an unusual name for a bank! I think most banks take advantage of us, definitely in the UK and then go running to the government when it goes wrong! May be my fractions will be useful one day!
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A good lesson Rick, makes you wonder about the name are they still going strong.
They are going strong around where I live, Alexander.