Math Is As Easy As Pi

Why should you never start a conversation with pi?

Because it’ll just go on forever. 😊

But this blog post won’t! So please read on.

The Greek mathematician Archimedes is considered the first person to accurately approximate pi. He did so more than 2,000 years ago, back in 250 B.C.E., after creating an algorithm on the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. 

Yet it wasn’t until 1706 that the Welsh mathematician William Jones started using the 16^th letter of the Greek alphabet to represent Archimedes’ constant with the symbol π.

Pi is important—and also quite interesting—because this mathematical constant has many different practical applications. It appears everywhere, from Einstein’s equation for general relativity to corrections in your GPS…to constructing arches and domes…modeling fluid dynamics…and even calculating compound interest and satellite trajectories. While you may not think about pi throughout the year, it plays a vital role in many aspects of our modern world.

So today we celebrate Pi Day. This math-inspired event was founded in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw when he was working at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, a hands-on science and technology museum.

Over the next two decades, Shaw’s holiday received such recognition that in 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating March 14 as “National Pi Day.” The goal is to encourage schools and educators to observe the day with activities that teach students about pi and engage them in the study of math.

In today’s 21^st-century economy, success in math gives students an enormous number of college and career options. It increases prospects for future income, and research shows it improves later-in-life outcomes. 

Those skills start in K-12 education. To ensure all students are prepared to succeed in algebra (a key predictor of postsecondary success), ExcelinEd has developed fundamental principles and a comprehensive K-8 math model policy. Both are based on the findings of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel to guide and support state leaders implementing and/or strengthening math policy in their K-12 systems. 

On Pi Day and every day: Don’t be a square! We want to see you around to collaborate on improving math policy for all students.