Movement to teach

Math is rarely a student’s favorite subject in school. The prize of favorite usually goes to lunch. In his article “Algebra and Civil Rights,” Robert P. Moses states that the literacies of math and science need to be changed in order to improve the way the subjects are taught. This is especially important in a day and age where technology is boss and more and more jobs require knowledge of technology, which by default can translate to knowledge of math and science.
As a future educator I am well aware of the growing deficit of math and science educators, and of the extremely high demand for such teachers. Through technology, such as computers and calculators, our society has come to think that math is unimportant since there are several tools that can readily solve their problems with out them having to think about it, thus creating a culture that thinks it doesn’t need math at a time when it needs it the most.
In recent times, many Americans have seen their jobs ship off to other countries. This is a sign of how important it is for people to strengthen their knowledge of all subject areas especially math and science. This also serves as an opportunity for people in minority groups to rise and better themselves socially and economically. I agree with Moses that more needs to be done to motivate students. As a future Spanish teach I am often discouraged when I see students that have no interest in learning the language simply because they don’t plan to visit Spain. These students are totally missing the point of how many more opportunities they will have in life if they are fluent in more than one language. As a bilingual speaker since early childhood I too was one of those students that didn’t care much for my foreign language education. Luckily I was able to learn that by speaking two languages that double the job opportunities that would be available to me. The same also translate to math and sciences.
As Moses stated our children need a broader education of math and science in order to broaden their futures. It is important to find engaging ways to present the materials because simply telling a teenager that learning something will help them get a job in the future does little to motivate them, since most of them live in the here and now. Our students can not be limited; they need to be taught more than just the basics and highlights of a subject. By expanding the levels of education provided, students will become driven to achieve higher levels of literacy and understanding.
I found Moses’ connection of Algebra and Civil Rights to be interesting and it made sense. In most cases inner city schools often populated by minority students receive little funding leaving them at a disadvantage when it comes to providing these students with the tools they need, similarly to the disadvantages faced by black schools in the Civil Rights era. I agree with Moses that we are at a point where every student should have equal access to technology and have equal opportunities for success. If urban schools aren’t providing quality educations, then how can we expect these students to succeed in the future job force?