Mathematics month theme 2015: “Math drives careers”
Are we not going to have a Mathematics month celebration for school year 2015-2016? Compared to other subject areas like Science and English, it seems that the Department of Education (DepEd) did not set aside a month or even a week to celebrate mathematics exclusively.
Based on DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro’s Department Order No.9, which lists all school events and activities for this school year, elementary and high schools nationwide must have celebrated “Science and Math Week” last September.
Despite this, the department neither published specific instructions on their suggested activities nor released an official theme for the celebration. Moreover, the pairing seems odd since September is better known as the National Science Club Month. In other words, activities related to Math would have been easily overshadowed.
In the absence of an official guidance from DepEd, Math teachers in elementary and high schools nationwide can perhaps use the theme developed by the American Mathematical Society for the 2015 Mathematics Awareness Month, which is “Math Drives Careers.” The group elucidated on this in a statement, which reads in part:
“Innovation is an increasingly important factor in the growth of world economies. It is especially important in key economic sectors like manufacturing, materials, energy, biotechnology, healthcare, networks, and professional and business services.
The advances in and applications of the mathematical sciences have become drivers of innovation as new systems and methodologies have become more complex. As mathematics drives innovation, it also drives careers.”
Because November is National Reading Month and with December having only two class weeks, schools around the country will most likely organize the activities for Mathematics Month come January 2016.
PS: It is common knowledge that countless students around the world regardless of academic level struggle in math subjects. Patrick Welsh of the U.S. National Education Policy Center has this solution:
“It is time to ensure that all kids absorb the fundamentals of math — computation, fractions, percentages and decimals — first before moving on to the next level. Otherwise, as with remedial summer courses, we’re teaching them twice what they should have learned the first time around.”