Solving for the Unknown

by Kara
Math is in an exciting period at SGS. Both the 7th and the 8th grade are in highly anticipated units, and are excelling!

In 7th grade, students are learning how to solve for an unknown variable. They’ve been practicing their logical thinking and puzzling skills, how to manipulate equations while maintaining equality, and substituting values in for variables to prepare them for this moment. Now, they get to be creative and clever in their applications as we spend the next few weeks ramping up the difficulty. We get to see how many different approaches can result in the same answer, and learn what strategies work best for our brain while still being communicable to others. It’s a major step in every mathematician's career.

In 8th grade, students are using their knowledge of exponential functions to understand the unseen forces of personal finances. What is compound interest, and how does it play into our loan and investment systems? How does inflation work? What is an APR, and is it accurate to the rates I’d really be seeing on that credit card? These questions are leading us into our two-week unit on financial literacy. We’ll talk about different types of investments, tax brackets, credit vs debit cards, basic budgeting, and more. During our investigations, we’ll be discussing the accessibility of growing and maintaining wealth, looking at some of the systemic barriers throughout history and now.