Between A Drill And A Hard Place

It seems as though many American teenagers would rather visit their dentist than do math:

Math has negative image among U.S. teens -- they would rather clean their rooms, eat vegetables or go to the dentist than do math homework, says a survey.

However, 67 percent of sixth- to eighth-graders polled on behalf of the Raytheon Co., say they want to do better in math and 94 percent say that doing well in math is important to them.

"These young students said they would be more interested in math if they saw how those skills could lead to exciting careers," said William H. Swanson, chief executive officer Raytheon Chairman.

"Our challenge is to show them how math and science could be exciting in their own worlds and on their own terms."

Our 13-year-old daughter, the TeenWonk, enjoys math, actually likes going to the dentist, but can't stand the thought of eating broccoli or green peas.

I guess that she's in the minority. ----------------------------Visit the latest midway of The Carnival Of Education (with this week's entry guidelines) here, and our latest posts over there.