> Are there any "math for people who just want to use it" tracks in math pedagogy?
If you're talking about college level, "math for people who just want to use it", is basically all it is (outside of math departments and perhaps outlier curriculums in some elite places) and that's a problem.
Learning just the applications without picking up the theorems and without a true understanding of the concepts makes more advanced work in whatever discipline one chooses more difficult. Why? Because you'll have to follow mathematical arguments and it's so much easier to do that when you got the background to fall back on.
I think students before college need more focus on mastering the basics. They're rushed so much, and tragically, math is very cumulative. Any one who has tutored before will notice that it's disturbing how many people don't really understand how to manipulate fractions as they enter a calculus course.
If you're talking about college level, "math for people who just want to use it", is basically all it is (outside of math departments and perhaps outlier curriculums in some elite places) and that's a problem.
Learning just the applications without picking up the theorems and without a true understanding of the concepts makes more advanced work in whatever discipline one chooses more difficult. Why? Because you'll have to follow mathematical arguments and it's so much easier to do that when you got the background to fall back on.
I think students before college need more focus on mastering the basics. They're rushed so much, and tragically, math is very cumulative. Any one who has tutored before will notice that it's disturbing how many people don't really understand how to manipulate fractions as they enter a calculus course.