Things are Adding Up for Math Students at The Link School
Jessie Orlet
When it comes to education, world-famous physicist Albert Einstein had some wonderful ideas. One of his most popular ideas came when he said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” This quote hangs on a poster in the math classroom at The Link School. The importance of thinking was also found in the writings of the Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, who in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures proclaims in the preface, “The time for thinkers has come.”
At The Link School, students are offered many unmatched opportunities to train their minds to think, be it in the classroom at basecamp, in the backcountry, or abroad. Of course, when it comes to learning to think, few traditional classes challenge students more than high school math. High school mathematics is a curious mix of learning the fundamental processes of solving problems while also learning why these different means for solving problems work. In simple terms, they learn both the “how” and the “why” of math.
Everyone knows The Link School is uncommon in many ways. One of the most beneficial qualities of The Link School is the ratio of students to teachers. This year, no math class has more than 2 students. This encourages communication between student and teacher to be much greater than in a traditional school setting, allowing students to ask more questions and receive individual tutoring during class. In math class, this often results in more time spent at the white board, with either the teacher explaining or the students working through problems for themselves.
Speaking of communication, it is said that mathematics is a universal language, along with music and Love. Within each class, students are learning the language specific to their topic, from Algebra to Geometry, Algebra 2 to Precalculus. By understanding the language of math, students can look at a problem and diagnose not only what is being asked, but the steps required to solve the problem.
Few academic disciplines are as blatantly sequential in learning as math. The lessons students learn in class today will be applied tomorrow and for each subsequent class day. This means there is a built in sense of urgency and purpose in our math classrooms.
But let’s face it, after high school most students will never factor a polynomial again. So why learn this skill in the first place? Because learning math is one of the most practical ways to learn how to solve a problem, any problem. Math teaches that there is a logical process to analyze all the given information. To manipulate that given information into a way that makes sense, that relates to what is already known. Perhaps the problem requires a simple drawing. Perhaps the problem requires a few rounds of trial and error to reduce the possible outcomes. Or perhaps we need to look through the clutter and recognize the pertinent facts required to come to the best possible solution. These processes are problem-solving tools that can be used in every other academic course, as well as any problem encountered for the rest of students’ lives. Bottom line, learning math teaches one to think!
