Okay, so the subject doesn't scare all of us. But for the truly frightened, we have reasons for making math your friend. [Times art: Jeff Goertzen]

By JESSICA DAFONTE
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 9, 2002

We've all seen the commercials. You know, the ones with "Mr. Studied-all-that-extra-math and got a really great job."

That may be true about studying math, but it still doesn't make a lot of us like it. Math is like spinach: You either like it or you hate it. But one thing is sure: You definitely need it.

"Most kids don't like it," said Monica Beyrouti, 14, of Seminole High School. But why should we learn it? "I don't know. . . . I guess to get a good job and succeed in life."

"With all the stuff in the books, it can get really confusing," said Lea Gaber, 15, also of Seminole High."

"I like math because there is always something new to learn," said Lauren Manche, 15, of Palm Harbor University High School. "And it is fun to laugh at myself when I don't understand a problem."

Greg Abdo, 15, also of Palm Harbor University High said, "It's probably my favorite subject. It has taught me that there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who can count, and those who can't."

Alice Haynes, a math teacher at Pinellas Park High School, said she has always liked math and tries to instill a love of the subject in her students.

"I tell them that math is kind of like a game," said Haynes, who teaches Algebra 2, honors geometry and a geometry-art combination class. Certain rules are needed to play any game, she said, and "if you don't know the rules, you can't play the game."

Mathematicians can make good money. According to the Web site www.coolmath.com, in 2001, the average annual salary for mathematicians employed by the federal government was about $76,460.

The most obvious math-focused career is mathematician. But mathematicians don't just sit around adding, multiplying and drawing graphs.

Mathematicians can work in a variety of fields. They can be economists, computer programmers or statisticians (people who design experiments and surveys and study their results). Whenever you hear, "In a recent test/study by . . ." that probably was a mathematician at work.

If you have ever thought about a career in the sciences, you will definitely need math. Math is science's twin. If you want to be an astronaut, pharmacist, pediatrician, veterinarian, astronomer, archaeologist, zoologist, biologist, chemist or anything else like it, then make math your friend. These are cool careers that require a background in mathematics.

And even if you want to be an architect, lawyer or video-game maker, you still need math.

If this information is making you a little ill, stay calm.

Haynes tells students to develop a good numbers sense because then you will have a good background in the subject.

Study math and work at it, and one day you, too, could be "The Expert-in-calculus-with-the-big-office-upstairs."

- Jessica DaFonte, 14, is in ninth grade at Palm Harbor University High School.

Here are some tips for studying math:

1. Take notes. Lots of them.

2. Ask a question when you don't understand, even if you have to ask lots of questions every day. You may feel uncomfortable for a while, but you will feel a lot worse if you get the same thing wrong on a test.

3. Keep old tests and homework so you can continue to study and practice. Each year builds on the last, so it's a good idea to have the information at your fingertips.

4. Pay attention and do your homework. Homework is not a punishment (or shouldn't be). "Doing homework reinforces the skills learned at school and helps students learn to solve problems on their own by applying what they learned in the classroom," said Lisa Cook, a teacher at Blessed Sacrament School in Seminole.

5. Get in the proper frame of mind, says the Web site www.coolmath.com. "This class is your job. How much effort are you putting forth? Do you always clock in late, or do you just not show up?" the Web site says. "If this class was really your job, would you get fired, or would you be up for a raise?"

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