My boss walks into my office and says, “Quick. Graph f inverse of x plus g of x.” Except he doesn’t, because very few professions will ever use an algebra problem such as this one.

There are realistic uses of math that many teens don’t know, such as paying taxes, balancing checkbooks, and paying bills. Teens don’t normally learn any practical math until they have their own money to keep track of.

If JC really wanted to prepare us for the future, they would offer courses with lessons on math that people use in everyday life.

Although maths like trigonometry and calculus aren’t neccesarily useful in everyday life, they help to sharpen your brain and think in a more logical way.

Learning growth and decay, which is calculating how much an item’s price will increase or how much the value will decrease over a certain number of years, in Honors Algebra III has been the closest I have come in my studies to practical math lessons.

Students would be much better off if JC offered practical math classes as well as the classes we have now.

Although your boss may never make you figure out math problems in your head, making your brain think through complicated math processes is significant to everyday life.

Ashley Beyer is a Lifestyles Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.