Mathematics provides an effective way of building mental discipline and encourages logical reasoning and mental rigor. In addition, math plays a crucial role in understanding the contents of other school subjects such as science, social studies, and even music and art. What makes math special is that its a universal language - a powerful tool with the same meaning across the globe. Though languages divide our world, numbers unite us. Math allows us to work together towards new innovations and ideas. The failure of government schools to provide kids with a basic education is a handicap that few are ever able overcome. Rather than a social leveler, government schools are the driving force for poverty in America. In Baltimore there are 23 elementary schools in which not a single student is proficient in math. No one student in the entire school. In the entire city, only seven percent—one in fourteen students—is proficient in math.
In one Baltimore school, a GPA of 0.13 places a student in the top half of the class.
To call Baltimore schools a public school is a misnomer. They don’t serve the public. Some believe, they serve the administrators with lifetime appointments. The same story plays out in government schools throughout the United States.
In Chicago, there are 33 schools where not a single student is proficient in math and a total of 53 schools where not a single student is proficient in math in the state of Illinois.
In Milwaukee, just 11 percent of fourth graders are proficient in math.
In California statewide, only 27 percent of eleventh graders met or exceeded statewide standards for math. Just 30 percent of Boston public school students—less than one in three–are proficient in math.
All of these children have been robbed of the opportunity to have an education, to develop their minds. So many important decisions in life require quantitative reasoning skills. Managing your finances requires quantitative reasoning skills. Weighing risk against reward requires quantitative reasoning skills. Running a business requires quantitative reasoning skills. Those who can manage their finances, understand risk, and run a business get ahead in life. Those who can’t find themselves falling victim to scammers, loan sharks and con man artists throughout their lifetime. When your good in math those scammers can't take advantage of you.
