The Math Reform Initiative: What it is and why it matters

Edward Patrick Akinyemi

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Edwardp.me

5 min readFeb 3, 2022

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UPDATE ON NOV 7, 2022: The Math Reform Initiative has been updated! Click here to learn more.

In October 2021, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio Senate Bill 1 into law, a bill that requires high school students to complete a semester-long course in financial literacy before graduation. I strongly advocated for this bill so I’m extremely happy that it has been passed. Kids in Ohio will now graduate high school with the knowledge they need to manage their money as adults.

So what’s next? Well, it starts with a few simple questions.

Did you know that 78% of Americans say that they use no more than addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in their jobs? So why do our schools continue to teach kids skills that kids won’t use as adults? Isn’t the purpose of education to prepare kids for adult life?

Introducing: The Math Reform Initiative

This thinking has led me to my next project: the Math Reform Initiative.

Ohio currently mandates high school students to complete 4 units of math to graduate. I suggest reducing this mandate to 2 units and requiring students to complete the following courses instead.

1. Mental Health & Substance Abuse (0.5 credits)

An April 2015 article in the Economist reported that “estimates from several rich countries put the economic cost of mental illness at 3–4% of GDP” and that “put together, mental illnesses account for more suffering and premature death in rich countries than heart disease and strokes, or than cancer.”

The World Economic Forum estimated that between 2011 and 2031, “mental health conditions alone will account for the loss of an additional US$ 16.1 trillion [globally].”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdose deaths in the United States surpassed 100,000 in a 12-month period for the first time ever during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2019-April 2020).

It’s fair to say, therefore, that teaching high school kids about mental health & substance abuse will provide far more benefits to society than teaching them about algebra (more on that later).

Moreover, with marijuana and many other drugs slowly being legalized in various states/countries, it’s important to give kids the evidence-based knowledge they need to make healthy choices.

Lastly, after Frances Haugen, a Facebook whistleblower and former employee, testified to the Senate Commerce Committee in October 2021 about how the social media giant is fully aware of the psychological damage it causes its users, it’s more important than ever to educate our kids about the mental health dangers of social media.

2. Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship (0.5 credits)

Almost every politician in his/her lifetime has probably said the phrase “small business is the backbone of America”. Mandating a half-credit course in which students learn the fundamentals of small business and entrepreneurship is the opportunity for us to prove how much we truly believe in that statement.

A 2019 article in The Balance reported that there were “30.2 million small businesses in the U.S. accounting for 99.9% of all businesses — leaving roughly 30,000 businesses labeled as large.” Clearly, small businesses aren’t a niche aspect of the American economy; they’re the overwhelming majority.

Here’s another useful summary of why small businesses are so vital to the economy.

3. Media Literacy & Critical Thinking (0.5 credits)

Since the main argument against removing Algebra II is that the course teaches kids critical thinking, let’s teach kids real critical thinking.

In the 21st century, critical thinking includes skills like reading news articles and assessing the bias of the journalist/article, understanding cognitive biases, understanding the difference between primary and secondary sources, how to analyze government policy, understanding how social media skews our perception of the world, and so on.

4. Life Skills (0.5 credits)

A catch-all class that would teach skills like how to fill out your taxes, apply for a job, write a resume, fill out health insurance, pay for and transfer utilities to your name when you move, and other practical life skills like these that every adult needs to succeed in their daily lives.

How do I get involved?

If you want to support the Math Reform Initiative, then please write to your Senators, House Representatives, and Ohio Board of Education President to let them know! Check out this link to find templates and more information for this.

Sources and extra reading

I’m the author of the books “You Say Soccer, I Say Football” and “Community Heroes: What a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA member taught me about community development”