7 Things My Teen Wishes She Really Learnt In Maths At School

Pythagoras Theory, angles of isosceles triangles and how to solve simultaneous equations all the Maths my teen learnt at school.  I paid for her to learn some of this stuff from a tutor as getting your Maths GCSE at Grade C or above is essential to getting started on A Levels. It is also a requirement to get onto degree courses in Higher Education. Yet she hasn’t used any of that Maths in the last 12 months.  She is unlikely to do so either. Highly unlikely in fact.

Ask Chloe and her friends what she does need to know in Maths and it is much more practical. It is applied Maths our young people need. The type of numbers they need to understand is based on the life they are living.  To be honest most of us carry smart phones that will do adding or multiplication for us.  What is really needed is practical Maths and an understanding of how it relates to grown up life.

7 Things My Teen Wishes She Really Learnt In Maths At School

• How to work out percentages in your head is needed.  We need to be able to tell how much the sale stock is reduced.  For example 20% off what does that look like in my pocket.  That is the Maths that is needed.
• We need to understand payslips so explaining how much tax is deducted and understanding the difference between gross and net payments.
• Many of us will have mortgages to pay and our young people need to know how interest works.  They need to understand fixed term mortgages or interest only options.
• A better understanding of credit cards, APR’s and short term loans like those available from Cashlady is required.  There will be times that people may require money quickly and they need to understand the costs involved.
• Getting best value in comparing mobile phone contracts.  Is it better to buy the phone outright or on a contract.
• Being able to distinguish on 3 for 2 offers or whether the offer really does give value for money.
• As we travel more young people need to understand currency conversions and also the best way to spend in other countries.  Should they pay on credit cards, with pre paid cards or only use cash.

These are the 7 things my teen wishes she really learnt in Maths at school. This would prepare her for her future and give her the financial education she needs. We want to raise young people that can manage their finances.  Young people that can budget each month and not head into a life of debt where their lack control with money. Schools and parents are crucial in teaching financial education and it is much more useful than simultaneous equations.

Can anyone else remember learning Sin, Cos and Tan at school and actually remember why we learnt it?