To the Editor:

In his column last week, Rick Mellerup asks the question “Why do we need math in the age of smartphones?” Like so many students, Rick misses the point of math education.

I remember when I was teaching a volunteer math class to a group of fourth-graders. During a class in algebra the students all echoed the same complaint: “I hate word problems.” They were OK solving the mechanical gyrations when presented with an algebraic formula.

November 23, 2023