Math skills as relevant as reading

Re: Don’t torture kids with math skills they’ll never use, Opinion, Oct. 24

Naomi Lakritz opines that we should skip the “hard” math because no one uses it. I suspect, however, she would be aghast at the suggestion that we should skip teaching how to read multi-syllable words because most people just watch Oprah anyway.

Illiteracy is not something to aspire to, as Ms. Lakritz would understand as a writer and a reader. Innumeracy is also a scourge. The basis of sound policy in our society is sound social and physical science, and that is based on math. We need people literate in language and math to enable the discourse we require to get through these difficult times. And we need teachers who can teach it to us.

Gary Bunio, Calgary