This class puts algebra 2 in a real world context, Via The Atlantic.

As soon as Caitlin Scull started her stopwatch, her classmate began texting.

“You want it to be real,” their teacher, Eric Gurule, told Scull and her partner. The student was texting with two hands—which few people do while driving.

The girl switched to just her right hand, holding her phone low near her waist as she pantomimed driving a car. “I’ll see you soon,” she texted her friend.

The watch stopped. 6.82 seconds.

Turns out, a short text sent at 55 mph gets you 393 feet down the road—a little longer than the length of a football field.

The calculations, based on numbers like braking and stopping time, were preceded by a talk in the Noblesville High School classroom from a local 24-year veteran police officer. He detailed to the class of about 20 students the risks of texting and driving, recounting nights he showed up at parents’ front doors to share the tragic news that their children had been killed.

It didn’t look like an Algebra 2 class. But that’s kind of the point.

Read more.

Each Tuesday is EducationTuesday here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts about educators and all things STEM. Adafruit supports our educators and loves to spread the good word about educational STEM innovations!