What is The Importance of Math & Why Does It Matter in The Real World?

The importance of mathematics extends to different areas of life!

From academic success to logical reasoning, finance management, and everyday tasks, no one can deny the utility of mathematics in daily life.

We often associate math with formulae, calculations, combinations, and problem-solving. But today the world of mathematics is way beyond these regular skills. Math is one of the main disciplines in the most futuristic curriculum i.e. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). And our students need strong mathematical skills to make it BIG in this interconnected globalized world.

Let’s take a closer look at why is math important for our students.

Why Is Math Important?

Problem-solving (Big and Small)

Just think about the importance of math in daily life.

When our students grow up as breadwinners they will be surrounded with lots of problem-solving and numeric calculations every single day of their lives. Grocery bills, discount estimations, calorie calculations, sports points tally, personal money management, investing options, household budgets, etc. are a part of everyday life. This proves the utility of mathematics in daily life.

Boosts Memory

While the importance of math in daily life is evident, it is also great to develop mathematical abilities to boost one’s memory power. Simple arithmetic calculations, operations, and problems sharpen the brain’s ability to memorize, recall, and draw logical connections between numeric values. So the more we make our students perform these functions the better their memory performs. Remember the popular phrase ‘Use it or lose it’?

It’s exactly that!

Develops Skills for Success

Skills like problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, and perseverance are highly in demand!

The importance of math extends to the area of life that helps students prepare for a competitive world by developing skills for the 21^st century. Mathematical operations sharpen abstract thinking processes. These abilities easily translate into real-life problem-solving. And eventually, these skills help in finding appropriate solutions for real-life challenges. For many reasons like these, teachers in traditional and online schools help students master this subject from an initial stage.

If you are still not convinced about the importance of math, here’s a look at the 10 uses of mathematics in daily life:

10 Uses of Mathematics in Daily Life

Personal finance management
Shopping
Skills like time management (creating schedules)
Following sports
Travel planning
Health management (calorie estimation, medicine potency, supplements, etc.)
Everyday utility (cooking measurements, ratios for room furnishings, sizes of furniture, etc.)
Speed management while driving, trip and distance estimations, etc.
Understanding statistics like weather forecasts, body temperature, body mass index, etc.
Planning everyday tasks like understanding marketing offers to distinguish real gains (40% discount on apparel vs the actual prices) from fake ones.

Where Do We Lag?

There is great importance of mathematics in our lives. And we can easily count up to 10 uses of mathematics in daily life.

Despite this utility, math still remains a problem area for many students. It is unfortunate that math anxiety and fear are common hindrances that deprive our students of the chance to develop the skills that they need for the future.

In India, the conditions seem dismal. And there are some alarming facts about the proficiency levels and anxiety of math.

Take a look!

Issue 1- Proficiency Levels

Issues with class 5 students	%
Could not recognize numbers	58%
Not able to solve arithmetic operations	27%
Not able to solve subtractions of a two-digit number	48%

Issue 2 – Math Anxiety

Maths anxiety is a real thing!

Take a look at some related the survey findings:

82% of students in classes 7 to 10 fear math.
Only 2 out of 10 students were confident about their math ability.
Applied math led to sleepless nights for 37.10 % of students.

$percentage of student awake at night due to applied math$

Issue 3 – Poor mathematical skills in the majority of students

90% of Indians lack math skills (between age groups 10 to 16 years).

Despite the anxiety issue, there’s still hope!

Let’s discover some strategies for stakeholders.

How to Improve Mathematical Skills?

If we acknowledge the importance of math it is easy to plan a better instructional delivery. You can use the following strategies to help students master mathematics.

Encourage Thinking

Real-life examples never go wrong. Help your students to connect patterns, and notice minute details (like similarities and differences). This will help them learn better. And eventually, they will start discovering fascinating mathematical calculations. At the same time, they will also understand the utility of mathematics in daily life.

Make your class active and bid goodbye to the mundane teacher-led methods. Use voice modulation and age-appropriate examples to promote a love for mathematics.

Add Fun Elements

Simple strategies like playing games, labeling a weekday as ‘Math’ day, and adding group activities can make the math class fun for students. Try quick recall games, table quizzes, puzzles, tic-tac-toe, and board games to make it fun. Simple activities like making perpendicular, acute, obtuse, or right angles with hands, and word problems racing amongst groups are super fun and effortlessly engaging for students.

Incorporate Technology

We have enough reasons to understand why is math important in everyday life. And now it’s easier to help our students master arithmetic skills by using technology.

Parents and teachers can collaborate and decide upon some games and mobile applications that can be used within the student’s permissible screen time. Download a couple of highly-rated games like ‘Math Workout’, ‘Math Games-Brain Training’, ‘Crossmath – Math Puzzle Games’, ‘Monster Math’, etc.

After this information on the importance of math in daily life, let’s explore a wider angle, how can math skills help our students create promising career pathways?

How Can Maths Skills Translate into Career Opportunities?

If you still feel why is math important for students pause and think about the career prospects!

Yes!

There are great career prospects in this STEM discipline. Here’s a quick rundown of the career options that students can unlock with a strong background in mathematics:

Statisticians
Financial Analyst
Operations Research Analyst
Mathematician
Cryptographers
Quantitative Analyst
Engineering
Math Teacher

Final Thoughts

Hope you can now connect the dots about the importance of math in daily life and its career prospects as well.

The utility of mathematics in daily life is paramount. But the fear holds back many students from developing these skills in the right age. Let’s take a pledge to make our math teaching innovative and engaging. So that we can gift the power of mathematical thinking to our students with an early head start!

Gear up and subtract the statement

MATH IS TOUGH!

And add a new one!

MATH IS FUN!

Thanks for Reading!

Frequently Asked Questions

Mention 10 uses of mathematics in daily life
10 uses of mathematics in daily life are:
1. Time management (schedules)
2. Managing health
3. Managing bank accounts (finances)
4. Estimating distance
5. Understanding sports
6. Everyday cooking, home decor measurements, etc.
7. Shopping
8. Making the most of offers/deals
9. Planning trip costs and fuel charges, etc.
10. Data analysis like weather forecasts, body temperature, body mass index, etc.

Elaborate on the role mathematics in our daily life.
Everyday tasks like cost analysis, personal budgeting, analyzing data, and financial management require mathematical skills.