Real world high school math: Learning algebra and geometry from life - Unschool RULES
Real world high school math: Learning algebra and geometry from life - Unschool RULES
Marci, that’s exactly it – it’s about the relationships between numb
Real world high school math: Learning algebra and geometry from life
I often talk about how I believe that real-world math is what matters.
You can, like our family, use an entirely real-world approach
to math, with no required workbooks or textbooks. You can also use a
super-structured math program. You can love math yourself, or be
mystified by it. You can have a preschooler or a high-schooler, a child
with math anxiety or one gifted with numbers.
In either extreme, or anywhere in the middle, I believe that knowing the real-world applications of the math you encounter is what’s most important.
While I’ve talked about this issue in many ways before, today I’d
like to focus on a specific concern or question I hear, even among
proponents of real-world math. Many people think it’s fine “to start
with.” But the concern I hear above all others is this:
“If your daughter doesn’t learn algebra and geometry, how can she graduate?”
That’s what I want to address today, both by talking a little about
our learning philosophy and by sharing some resources where you can read
and explore more about math in the real world.
“Learning algebra and geometry” is not the same thing as “working your way through an algebra or geometry textbook.” It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. In Pennsylvania, our homeschool law
doesn’t even specify that you must have a whole semester or year of
those subjects; you must study math in high school, and it must include
algebra and geometry.
In our family, algebra happens naturally. It happens when we figure
out grocery-store price comparisons. It happens when we’re keeping track
of our personal finances. It happens when, as part of a summer camp on
forensics, Sarah finds out that you can estimate someone’s height based
on the size of their footprint.
It’s amazing the amount of times we talk about algebra in our family
without ever mentioning “math.” I’ve said before that algebra is simply
overlaying sets of equations onto the world around us, and the biggest
thing we do to promote a real-world approach to algebra is to talk.
We talk about gas mileage in our two cars, one a decade old and the
other brand new. We talk about when it makes sense to invest in
something expensive – like a new microwave – and how cost-per-use works
out to make it more effective to spend more money up front to spend less
over time in some situations.
And geometry and its science counterpart, physics, are even more
natural. Have you packed a full cart of groceries into your car’s trunk
recently? Played sports? Fit things into your pantry?
These are the things we do, and the things we talk about.
And, again, what makes this work is the engagement. I’m not saying
“never do math.” I’m actually saying exactly the opposite – stop
relegating math to a subject on a chart for however many minutes a day.
See how much of it is all around you, and share that with your kids.
It’s kind of fun. Play “spot the math” for a week, and see who can find the most examples. You might be surprised!
bringing homeschool subjects to life. Click the image below to see how
my blog friends bring their favorite subjects to life, from history to
art to nature study and more!
You can, like our family, use an entirely real-world approach
to math, with no required workbooks or textbooks. You can also use a
super-structured math program. You can love math yourself, or be
mystified by it. You can have a preschooler or a high-schooler, a child
with math anxiety or one gifted with numbers.
In either extreme, or anywhere in the middle, I believe that knowing the real-world applications of the math you encounter is what’s most important.
While I’ve talked about this issue in many ways before, today I’d
like to focus on a specific concern or question I hear, even among
proponents of real-world math. Many people think it’s fine “to start
with.” But the concern I hear above all others is this:
“If your daughter doesn’t learn algebra and geometry, how can she graduate?”
That’s what I want to address today, both by talking a little about
our learning philosophy and by sharing some resources where you can read
and explore more about math in the real world.
Real world high school algebra and geometry
First of all, I want to point something out:“Learning algebra and geometry” is not the same thing as “working your way through an algebra or geometry textbook.” It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. In Pennsylvania, our homeschool law
doesn’t even specify that you must have a whole semester or year of
those subjects; you must study math in high school, and it must include
algebra and geometry.
In our family, algebra happens naturally. It happens when we figure
out grocery-store price comparisons. It happens when we’re keeping track
of our personal finances. It happens when, as part of a summer camp on
forensics, Sarah finds out that you can estimate someone’s height based
on the size of their footprint.
It’s amazing the amount of times we talk about algebra in our family
without ever mentioning “math.” I’ve said before that algebra is simply
overlaying sets of equations onto the world around us, and the biggest
thing we do to promote a real-world approach to algebra is to talk.
We talk about gas mileage in our two cars, one a decade old and the
other brand new. We talk about when it makes sense to invest in
something expensive – like a new microwave – and how cost-per-use works
out to make it more effective to spend more money up front to spend less
over time in some situations.
And geometry and its science counterpart, physics, are even more
natural. Have you packed a full cart of groceries into your car’s trunk
recently? Played sports? Fit things into your pantry?
These are the things we do, and the things we talk about.
And, again, what makes this work is the engagement. I’m not saying
“never do math.” I’m actually saying exactly the opposite – stop
relegating math to a subject on a chart for however many minutes a day.
See how much of it is all around you, and share that with your kids.
It’s kind of fun. Play “spot the math” for a week, and see who can find the most examples. You might be surprised!
Real world high school math resources
- It’s not all about numbers: Unschooling math
– This post came about when I tried to explain our family’s unschooling
approach as it relates to the traditional subject areas most families
are familiar with. It’s a great starting point and I encourage you to
read it first! - Real world math resources series
– This is a starting point for most of my posts about real-world math,
including the “5 Days of Real-World Math” series I wrote in 2012 and
continue to add to. It breaks down the math you encounter in the
kitchen, playing sports, at the grocery store, in personal finance and
more. - Real world math resources you’ll love
– The final part of the series I mentioned above. I continue to add to
this, and in fact need to update it with the resources I’m including
today! - The unschooled version of a ninth-grade-ish curriculum – A look at what we’re learning this year, including math, and how.
- DragonBox Algebra 12+
– An amazing way to learn algebra through an app that doesn’t even
really look like algebra. This is not what I’d call an “educational
game.” It’s a game. It happens to be educational. It’s also amazing. I
play it too.
- DragonBox Elements
– This app is the newer one from WeWantToKnow, and Sarah FLEW through
the geometric concepts in it. Much like DragonBox Algebra, the point
here is conceptual math, which is awesome. - Get the Math
– Dude. Rap/hip-hop style music videos showing how algebra is used in
music, a video-game designer sharing how she uses math to create games,
and more. Seriously cool. - A Charlotte Mason approach to math: Living Math
– This article in Homeschool magazine is by my friend Jimmie of
Jimmie’s Collage, and it’s a great example of how living math happens at
all levels
- Pinterest: Unschooling math
– I contribute to this group board along with Aadel of These Temporary
Tents and our fellow unschooling friend Mariellen. Great stuff for all
ages! - Pinterest: Unschooling high school science and math
– This is a board I started this year (with contributions from my
friend Karen of Homeschool Girls) to try to compile specific
higher-level real world resources and conversation-starters. - The Life of Fred book series
– I’ve talked about this series often. It’s a math textbook series –
sort of. It’s a story about a 5-year-old math genius named Fred, and
instead of tons of exercises, it tells stories about how Fred encounters
everything from arithmetic to calculus in the real world. Sarah likes
reading the stories, and we highly recommend it. - Using an accelerated learning program with an unschooling approach
– This explores how we’ve used the Standard Deviants Accelerate system
to pick up some of the bits and pieces of algebra we’ve needed to hit on
in order to understand other topics. - Digital currency: Video games for math
– This post focuses mainly on games Sarah played when she was a little
younger, but it poses some questions to help you think more expansively
about how math appears in your family’s favorite games.
Bringing homeschool subjects to life
This post is part of a series through the iHomeschool Network aboutbringing homeschool subjects to life. Click the image below to see how
my blog friends bring their favorite subjects to life, from history to
art to nature study and more!
2 thoughts on “Real world high school math: Learning algebra and geometry from life”
Marci, that’s exactly it – it’s about the relationships between numb
world examples to support each lesson. As my daughter entered the realm
of algebra and geometry, I panicked and thought that the days of real
life math would be over, but I just had to think about math differently.
It’s not just about memorizing equations. That’s boring. Math is about
understanding relationships between numbers and problem solving. Thanks
for the great resources. I’ll be needing them!