Mathematics Awareness Month

Floor Speech

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I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as a longtime advocate of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--or STEM--education during my tenure here in Congress, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1270, expressing support for Mathematics Awareness Month.

In our increasingly global and technology-based economy, math education has become even more important to ensuring our Nation's continued economic competitiveness. Learning math is financially beneficial for both our Nation's economy and for our students.

In 2010, the top 10 highest paying college majors were all related to math, science, and engineering. Unfortunately, recent National Association of Educational Progress--NAEP--test scores has shown little or no progress among our fourth and eighth grade students since 2007. Despite the best efforts of many, this data demonstrate that much more must be done to improve mathematics education and to demonstrate its relevance to our Nation's students.

That is why the Joint Policy Board of Mathematics has chosen the 2010 theme ``Mathematics and Sports'' for this year's Mathematics Awareness Month. It will highlight the intersection of the sports world with the wide world of mathematics, a universal language which is used to investigate questions ranging from the trajectory of a baseball to the weight of a star.

Sports offer a variety of data, strategies, and probabilities which are each uniquely suited to mathematical analysis. Beyond its obvious use in evaluating baseball players and football quarterbacks, mathematics is necessary to design the dimple patterns on golf balls and the composition of racing tires. Today's baseball and basketball teams are even utilizing complex, new mathematical formulas to assemble the best teams at the lowest cost. This sports theme will provide students with countless opportunities to apply a range of math skills on real-life issues they encounter every day.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support Mathematics Awareness Month, and I urge my colleagues to join me in encouraging all schools, colleges, universities, and other organizations to recognize the importance of mathematics in their own curricula.

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