Unique event at local school shows kids that, yes, they will use math when they grow up

If you’re a parent or have spent any time around school-aged kids, you’ve likely heard the lament, ‘when am I ever going to need this?’ It could be directed at any subject, but math often gets the brunt of the complaints.

A unique event – Math at Work – organized by the parent council at Irwin Memorial Public School in Dwight aimed to show students that math is everywhere and in just about every job they can imagine.

It was a resounding success with almost half of the student body turning out with their families to find the math in a diverse group of businesses and organizations including a bakery, a farm, a tree care service, a garden centre, a driving range, a karate club, and the local fire department.

Irwin’s parent council, supported by the school’s teachers, invited local businesses to bring the tools of their trade and help the students to discover where the math is in the work that they do. Twenty-eight business owners, organizations and artisans donated their time to set up displays and talk to the students.

Emma Platts-Boyle, one of the organizers, said she was thrilled with the way students were able to see and interact with how each business uses math. An unexpected benefit was how the event built community. “To see the parents and the kids and the community members all coming together, getting to know each other better and supporting each other was pretty great,” she said. “The businesses went above and beyond. I was in awe of the creativity they brought to their displays. I’m sure they don’t often reach out to the age group that they did at the school and they really rose to the challenge of sharing what they did in unique ways.”

Each student was given a map to have stamped at the displays after they had found the math in that business, and could turn in the map to enter a draw for an iPad. Jacob Jovanovic was the lucky winner.

Local businesses – Robinson’s Your Independent Grocer, Henrietta’s Pine Bakery, and Webster’s Beacon – contributed food for the free barbecue, as did the school’s parent council. The event was made possible by a parent engagement grant.

Irwin’s principal Jennifer Clark said it was amazing to see how invested the local community is in supporting student learning. “It extended what the students were doing in the classroom because it allowed them to see the applications for math in real life.”

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