> math is often not introduced in a concrete manner, as well as in a way such that its utility is obvious
This cannot be emphasized enough. Most people won't be doing any higher order math in their lifetime -- we should be teaching math literacy and "real world" math for the masses rather then pretending that every student is going into physics.
And we should be clear here that the bar for improvement is verrrrry low. Take a look at the questions asked in the National Financial Capability Study, and the results:
This cannot be emphasized enough. Most people won't be doing any higher order math in their lifetime -- we should be teaching math literacy and "real world" math for the masses rather then pretending that every student is going into physics.