The question asked in every math class across the country, When are we going to use this? As someone who has loved math all of my life and is currently in two math classes and a teacher's assistant in another, this question is asked often. It never seems that the limits of functions are going to help with your job in the future, but it actually is.
In the words of my math teacher “Most of the things you learn in high school you're going to use in life.” Dark. We spend thirteen years of our lives in school. For some it is the best time of your life, for some learning is fun and engaging, but for others it seems useless.
No matter how stupid it seems to spend so much time on math and not on real life skills like writing a check or learning to change a tire, math is going to help with problem solving. When I asked my math teacher why she dedicated her life to teaching when she thinks that we will never use the math she teaches she said, “You may never use the things you learn in school, but you're learning how to learn.” That's the most important part of school. Learn how to learn. Even if you don't use the factoring skills you spent hours studying, you learned how to persevere and ask questions when you needed it. Math in particular helps with neurological connections in the brain and your critical thinking skills. The daily challenges you face require the same thinking, decision making, and analysis as math problems.
There are some very obvious reasons why math would be helpful later in life. For example, I love math and think it has a very good impact on my life. I want to minor in it in college, I spend quite a bit of time tutoring my peers in math, and I love that it is a concrete thing in my life. There is always an answer.
Let's think about the past. You have learned more practical math knowledge than you think. Think back to your first year of school and remember all of the simple things you couldn't do. How about cooking. Even if we take out the fact you probably weren't allowed to touch the stove and you couldn't read, you still didn't know what the fractions on the measuring cups ment. If someone asked you to fill a 1-cup measure up halfway you would have had no clue what that meant. When you cook now, hopefully you are allowed to use the stove, you know what those fractions mean. You can successfully make something using math knowledge.
If your math teacher is anything like mine the answer to the question; When are we going to use this? will be very honest. Most teachers know that the subject that they teach wont be used outside of school, but the skills are the most important. The kids in the Pre-Calculus class that I am an assistant in are all going down different paths. Some are planning on going to college, some are going into the military, and some are going straight to the workforce. The ones going to college will probably take another math class in their life but the ones going into the workforce probably won't. Depending on your path after high school you might never write an essay again, but the skills that you learned like time management and the ability to write something that makes sense will serve you well later in life.
Math is important no matter what you do in life. Without it you wouldn't have nearly as many problem solving skills and analysis skills as you need in life. When will you use it? The depressing answer: probably never. But the skills you take away from all those math classes and late night studying will help you succeed in a world outside of school.
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