Name: Teach statistics before calculus!
Uploaded: 2009-06-29T08:50:00Z
Duration: 2 min 44 s
Description: Someone always asks the math teacher, "Am I going to use calculus in real life?" And for most of us, says Arthur Benjamin, the answer is no. He offers a bold proposal on how to make math education relevant in the digital age.

Arthur Benjamin: Teach statistics before calculus!

Teach statistics before calculus!

Someone always asks the math teacher, "Am I going to use calculus in real life?" And for most of us, says Arthur Benjamin, the answer is no. He offers a bold proposal on how to make math education relevant in the digital age.

Mathematics education in the United States builds toward calculus, but most people rarely use it in daily life. Probability and statistics, however, are essential for understanding risk, reward, and data in the modern world. Shifting the focus to statistics would better prepare students for real-world decisions and challenges. As the world moves from analog to digital, math curricula must evolve to emphasize the mathematics of uncertainty and data.