The Dangers of Mathematical Modeling
When setting long-term goals, mathematics teachers face a constant dilemma. Most of us realize that our students will need to be mathematically literate in their future jobs, be able to see the real world through mathematical eyes, and be ready to handle the huge quantities of numbers that will be presented to them in their company's reports and in the news. During most of the school year, however, we give our students problems that are already written in mathematical language. Even the socalled real-life applications often consist of just an equation from physics, medicine, or economics that students are expected to analyze algebraically or graphically. They do not learn how the equation was originally derived, and they can often solve such problems without giving any thought to the application. To truly connect their mathematical skills with the outside world, we need to confront them with problems that have not yet been translated into the language of mathematics. We should just say “Now what?” and give them the necessary time to try out several mathematical models for the given situation.