Real life math

[dovrar]

I've got a high schooler who enjoys math as long as he can see the real life application.  Can anyone suggest a curriculum/workbook series for me? If not, another approach that I can be sure I'm covering all of the necessities with.

 

Thanks!

Debbie

[EKS]

What exactly do you mean by "real life" application?  Do you mean how it can be used in his day-to-day life or how it is used in various fields?  As you move up through the standard progression, math becomes less and less applicable to daily life--though people who have an excellent understanding of higher math do occasionally find uses for it.

 

The textbook series (Holt McDougal Common Core edition) used by the local school district for high school has a little box at the beginning of each section that says either "Why learn this?" or "Who uses this?"  and then answers the question.  Here is an example from the Algebra 2 book:  

 

Who uses this?  Scuba divers can use an inverse function to determine their depth based on the water pressure.

 

The problem with examples like this one is that (a) scuba divers don't do these sorts of calculations underwater and (b) there is this little thing called a depth gauge that every scuba diver is equipped with.  I would think that most students would find these sorts of examples annoying at best.  My own take on them is that they *lessen* the mathematics being presented in that they attempt to reduce everything taught to the "relevant" and the "practical."