Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Co-Managing Editor
No matter what topic you may find yourself discussing, there will always be the age-old conundrum of the GOAT Debate. Rooted deep in humans’ evolutionary desire to prove their views as right, there will always be someone ready to strike up a conversation of who is the greatest of all time. You can find these arguments in sports with debates like Jordan vs. LeBron and Gretzky vs. Ovechkin. You can find them at home with who is the better parent Mom or Dad. You can even find them here in Trumbull as we debate what teams and clubs have edges over the others.
Still, most of these topics have relatively minimal impact on the surface. Sure they may be important topics, but at the end of the day it is just conversation. Where we really start to scratch the edge of importance is when we dive into more philosophical debates. For the past thousands and thousands of years, one debate has stood the test of time in human civilization and continues to have a blistering hot record of opinion: English vs. Math.
English and Math are, without a doubt, two of the most important, pertinent, and critical things to the success of society. Math helps us construct technology, solve problems, and create newer and newer ways of making the world a better place. On the other hand, English teaches empathy, humanity, and communication. Together, these two skills build the very foundation of the world we live in.
However, despite the undeniable purpose of each, individuals can’t help but ponder which one may truly be more impactful on our lives. This debate extends from what subject we find is better in school, to what subject provides more careers and jobs for young prospering people, and what would ultimately be able to carry the load of the world if the other fell down.
In school, especially in more recent years, inordinately mixed opinions are held by both proponents and opponents of each of these respective topics. Some argue that math has become stale, gratuitous, and completely ineffective in positively influencing students’ lives. According to studies, only around 10% of people can adequately remember at least half the math they learned in high school with 9% of those people being individuals who found careers in stem fields.
Similarly, many express similar sentiments with English viewing it as boring, repetitive, or a headache. In the same study, researchers found that only 30% of people remember half the books they read in high school with 20% being, you guessed it, people who went into English based fields.
Over time, student interest in participation in these studies has slowly eroded. This elicits the question, should we really be debating which one is better? Or should we be discussing the matter enough to create new ways of getting kids interested again in these critical subjects?
A math teacher may prefer numbers to words. A writer may prefer stories to facts. I may prefer the thought-provoking nature of English as opposed to the dull edge of a blade that is math. At the end of the day, there will always be people who prefer one over the other for whatever reason. Some of it is based on parents, some of it is based on personality, and a lot of it is actually based on the teachers who they learn from.
Instead of focusing our attention on this quagmire of syllogism, we should be shifting our attention to teaching the importance of each of these respective subjects in the real world. Each may serve a unique purpose, but the reality is that nothing we know to be real in the present day would have ever existed without this perfect tandem of a combo working in perfect synchronization to propel our society forward.
Kids have lost their love for reading, for numbers, and most disappointing –learning. Learning is the key. Learning is a gift. LEARNING, and more specifically a love of learning, is ultimately what will allow us to survive and flourish like we never have before if we just teach our youth to appreciate it like we have. Because when all is said and done, KNOWLEDGE is the true winner of the GOAT debate, and Knowledge is what allows humans to prosper…
Photo courtesy: Todd Martin (marttj) CC BY-NC 2.0