We are all math people!

Slowly, I am beginning to notice the phrase "math person" disappearing, and I am thrilled!  We are all math people. It is not a subject for the elite--all of our lives involve math.

As is often said, people rarely go around and say, "I can't read," yet they have no issues with stating that they can't do math. I believe that people say this because they limit their definition of math. Math is such an important piece of our everyday lives. 

Math is about way more than just computing.  It is about logic and thinking and patterns. It is about shapes and sounds and data. It is about puzzles and perseverance.  It is something we can all do.  It is something that all of our students can do.  It is just how this looks that may vary.

Computers were created by great thinkers so that we do not need to spend all of our time completing computation problems.  The part that we need to do (and our students need to do) is think about the math: What does this data tell us?  How can we use this data?  What do I need to do with these numbers? Which fraction is bigger? What fraction is smaller? What discount is better? Which measuring cup can I use when I can't find my half cup? About how much money will I need?  How is symmetry used in art? How does logic help me solve a Wordle?   This is real world math. This is math that matters to us.  Knowing that 7 x 9 is 63 is an important fact for sure, but it will only be relevant to a person as they age if it is necessary as part of their daily activities.  Many carpenters know their 12s times tables for this reason.

So many other beautiful things that we do and experience daily involve math like baking, building, music, and art. Once we expand our thinking around the definition, we will see that we are all math people.

A t-shirt that I have seen many times says this:

HOW TO BE A MATH PERSON:

1.  Do math. (any type)

2. Be a person.