In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis talk about an important role of math education: preparing students for the life they want to pursue after high school. Whether it’s college, trade school, the military, or directly into the work force, a student’s goals and desires should drive their learning experiences throughout their PK-12 years, and the course offerings, counseling and advising, and school system overall should, ideally, prepare all students for the outcomes they desire.

They recognize early in the conversation that this isn’t just about high school, isn’t just about courses, and isn’t just about math. They dive into ideas around career choices, advocating for students’ best interests, and the challenges in creating a system with the depth, breadth, and flexibility required to truly prepare all students. There aren’t easy answers to these questions, but we hope the conversation sparks thinking, discussion, and actions in your setting that support more students to be better prepared for their chosen futures.

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• American Progress Math Pathways: The Way Forward report: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/math-pathways/ 
• NCTM’s former President Robert Berry’s blog post on Mathematics Pathways from December, 2019:  https://www.nctm.org/News-and-Calendar/Messages-from-the-President/Archive/Robert-Q_-Berry-III/Lets-Talk-About-Mathematics-Pathways/ 
• EdWeek article challenging calculus as the “peak of high school math” https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/calculus-is-the-peak-of-high-school-math-maybe-its-time-to-change-that/2018/05 
• Just Equations report on calculus and college admissions: https://justequations.org/resource/a-new-calculus-for-college-admissions-how-policy-practice-and-perceptions-of-high-school-math-education-limit-equitable-access-to-college 

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing [email protected]. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.