I’ve got 99 problems and all of them are math.

A final is on the way, test corrections turned in, the problems on the review sheet reach up to heaven. The sheer amount of arithmetic is astounding. Still, students are told that all this has a greater purpose, some “real world application.”

The truth is, I’ve used high school math outside of class exactly never. Addition, subtraction, multiplication–sure. If things get really wild, maybe a little division. But my knowledge of polynomials, parabolas, and pi has simply gathered dust on the mental tool shelf.

Any math class beyond sixth grade is teaching you how to do a computer’s work for it. Machines can solve harder problems, with better solutions, at lightning speeds.  In the unlikely instance that you encounter the mythic “real world problem,” Google can spit the answer back out at you. In the light of these advances, requiring four years of higher level math feels a little ridiculous.

To be fair, we wouldn’t have those computers without mathematicians. Any extremist push to drop all math from schools could rob the world of future genius. Some may find a career, a talent, or a kind of beauty in advanced mathematics. But that’s no reason for the rest of us to suffer.

The mental gymnastics offered by high school math courses are not without value. However, the priority placed on them, the hours at class and home sacrificed to complete them, are out of proportion to their benefit. A de-emphasis on algebra, trig, and calculus in favor of courses on practical math and the sciences would have a real benefit for students who aren’t the next Stephen Hawking.   

Now, if you’ll excuse me–I still have four hours of math to finish.