What Was Your Favorite Subject in High School?

Favorite, hum, let’s start with least favorite. English with the parts of speech, diagraming sentences, reading poetry, and writing. That’s right, folks, hated to write. Why? Because teachers returned every paper covered in red ink. Often at the bottom of the page in larger than necessary print is the word, Redo.

Now, before I continue, I need to note that I attended two high schools, two years in New York and two years in Arizona. In New York, they still considered ninth grade junior high school. But for now, we will pretend it was high school.

Hated English all four years, but required to graduate, four credits. Especially in my senior year, Mr. Smith, really, Smith. I will be kind cause he could still be living and, with my luck, living down the street. Still, I recall those spelling lists of his making and how he seemed to enjoy demeaning me (or anyone) as we stood before the class analyzing a book or piece of poetry. He walked in as the tardy bell rang with his briefcase, wearing a pressed white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, sat at his desk and off we went. I will save him for a future story, so much to tell.

Disliked science, not hated it, but the unpronounceable verbiage made me feel dumb. Too many words.

Now, for my favorite. Truth be told, Physical Education (PE). I say this, realizing that many will maintain this is not a subject. Fine. But in my day, it was required all four years.

Love all my vocational classes, i.e. drafting, wood shop, welding class, electricity class (lots of math and sparks), and metalwork. Still not considered actual subjects. I guess that was true, since they eventually eliminated these classes.

What’s left?

History courses, people, places, events, dates (so many dates), and teachers that share stories of a world always in transition. Geography, U.S. History, World History, U.S. Government/politics, and Economics. It all felt real… where we had been and the world in which we lived, in the news, relevant. Historical photos, pictures, visuals, maps and charts.

Finally, the moment you have been waiting for, my favorite, mathematics. Two plus two always equals four. Algebra, Functions, Modeling, Geometry, Calculus, Trigonometry, Statistics, and Probably. Numbers and algorithms.

What are the top 5 formulas in math, you ask?

Arithmetic mean (average) = Sum of values / Number of values.

Probability = Target outcomes / Total outcomes.

Quadratic Formula: x = −b ± √b²-4ac/2a.

Distance Formula: d=√(x₁ – x₂)² + (y₁ – y₂)².

Slope Formula: Slope = y₂ – y₁ / x₂ – x₁.

Slope Intercept: y=mx+b.

Midpoint Formula: (x₁+x₂) / 2, (y₁+y₂) / 2.

They are beautiful, trustworthy, memorable, and the language of math so accessible, attainable, right or wrong, simple.

All sciences exist thanks to math. The “mother of all sciences, the mother of all subjects.”

Mathematics is the study of patterns. Studying patterns is an opportunity to observe, hypothesize, experiment, discover, and create. We can predict what comes next, estimate if the same pattern will occur when variables are altered, and extend the pattern by understanding regularities based on the data we gather.