November 21, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR SHIELA ENGLAND IN PA
This response is related to several questions. It seems that there are a
lot of questions about what kind of math to take and how much math is
required for a particular field. My undergraduate degree covers both
Applied Mathematics and Secondary Education. My master's degree was 1/3
statistics. My advice is to take as much math as you can while you are in
high school and then continue taking math in college. Get help to get
through it if you need help. Don't shut any future doors by reducing the
amount of math you take. Students often experience difficulty with math
because it is a subject that requires mental maturity that may not be
experienced until one's first year of college. Often people make decisions
about their mathematical ability much to soon. I taught math for a few
years before changing careers to software engineering and I found that girls
thought they were not good doing well in math when they were actually high
achievers and that boys thought they were doing well when they were actually
low achievers. I wonder if this has to do with the need we females seem to
have to know everything perfectly :)

Finally, please take math even if you squeak through it. Take it until you
can't take any more and then get help to keep taking it. Life is full of
patterns and learning math makes it easier to discover them. The success I
have experienced in my career has been closely linked to a mathematical
foundation as well as to an ability to communicate.