Mr. Joseph Biden, President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Cc: The Honorable Dan Sullivan, United States Senate
The Honorable Lisa Murkowski, United States Senate
The Honorable Mary Peltola, United States House of Representatives
Dear Mr. President:
I am a high school student from Fairbanks, Alaska, and I am writing to express my concern about the continuous usage of the imperial system of measurement in the United States. The education of American children is severely suffering, especially in mathematics (Desilver, “U.S Students’ Academic Achievements Still Lags That of Their Peers in Many Other Countries”). While converting to the metric system would not fix this problem entirely, it would certainly alleviate one difficulty students face in math and science, allowing them to focus on other aspects of STEM education.
America’s mathematics performance is severely behind the rest of the world. According to the PEW Research Center, America ranks 28th in math and places 12th in science. For one of the most powerful countries in the world, those numbers are rather dismal. The Wall Street Journal also corroborates this data, stating that the United States’ points in math fell by 13 points between 2018 and 2023. This upcoming generation is suffering academically, and forcing students to learn two very different unit systems, in addition to converting between them, isn’t helpful. The vast majority of American pupils find it difficult to translate imperial units and metric units. Even changing within the English system itself is challenging, as the conversions are non-sensible, and difficult for many to remember. In contrast, the metric system, based on factors of ten, is much easier to apply.
Not only does the use of this difficult system cause students to struggle in math and science unnecessarily, but foreign pupils also are affected. They come from around the world to study at American universities, and one of the things they must learn is a nonsensical units system that they will likely never again use in their lives (DeMaio, “In a Classroom, A Teacher’s Plea for the Metric System”). A mathematics professor from the Harvard Business Review states that teaching the English system to non-American students takes time away from more important topics. In his review, DeMaio states that “…America’s competitive disadvantage in math and science is palpable, and I honestly feel a little embarrassed…”
Presently, there are only two other countries in the world that use the imperial system: Liberia and Myanmar (DeMaio, “In a Classroom, a Teacher’s Plea for the Metric System”). The entirety of other nations use metric measurements, creating cohesive numerical units that transcends linguistic differences. Whenever international research is conducted, the metric system is used, promoting the question: why is the United States, one of the foremost countries in the world, still using the imperial system?
While the United States has managed to trade, interact, and conduct research with other nations and developers, both time and monetary expenses are higher than necessary due to this obstacle. In some cases, having the world’s foremost country in trade and research use a different system of measurement than nearly every other people can result in actual disaster, rather than mere awkwardness. For example, the well-known Mars Orbiter, constructed in 1999, burned up upon entering the planet’s atmosphere, costing $125 million (Rigs, “Roughly 5,280 Reasons America Should Have Gone Metric a Long Time Ago”). The reason for this unfortunate probe’s demise was that one engineering team used the imperial system, while every other crew utilized metric units. There have been other major errors caused by the United States by using the imperial system, although the destruction of the Mars Orbiter is the largest unit conversion disaster to date.
Sadly, the United States has not switched to the metric system because of business and monetary pressures. Our businesses are now built around imperial measurements, which are widely used and recognized by Americans, and the average US citizen has trouble understanding or grasping SI units. However, America is not an isolated country, and in this modern age we are more connected than ever to the rest of the world. Americans need to be fluent in the measurements that the rest of the world utilizes. The past remedy has required teachers to attempt to instruct students in both systems—but the mathematical performance of students suffers in consequence (Barnum, Wall Street Journal).
As an upcoming college student looking to go into business, I understand the importance of good communication in both English and mathematics. While I can easily convert between our imperial system and metric units, the majority of my peers cannot. The rising generation of American children who will become the next businesspeople, scientists, researchers, engineers, and soldiers struggle with such an inelegant, archaic system. While it may be too late for this generation to receive the benefits of switching to SI units, please take action to give our children a chance at a better education by leaving the old English system behind.
Sincerely,
Clara Parsons
2910 Katya Ct.
Fairbanks, AK, 99709
Works Cited
Barnum, Matt. “Learning Loss Hit the U.S. Hard. It’s as Bad or Worse Across the World.” Wall Street Journal, 5 December 2023. Accessed 5 December 2023.
DeMaio, Steven. “In a Classroom, a Teacher’s Plea for the Metric System.” Harvard Business Review, 22 October 2009, https://hbr.org/2009/10/a-metric-of-americas-competiti. Accessed 30 November 2023.
Desilver, Drew. “U.S. Student’s Academic Achievement Still Lags That of Their Peers in Many Other Countries.” PEW Research Center, 15 February 2017, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/#:~:text=Among%20the%2035%20members%20of,International%20Mathematics%20and%20Science%20Study. Accessed 30 November 2023.
Rigs, Joshua. “Roughly 5,280 Reasons America Should Have Gone Metric a Long Time Ago.” TheRigsBlog, 22 August 2015, https://joshuarigsby.com/2015/08/22/roughly-5280-reasons-america-should-have-gone-metric-a-long-time-ago/. Accessed 30 November 2023.
1. How did you determine who your representative is? Who are they?
I have heard the names of our politicians throughout my life, so I was fairly certain I knew who represents me in Congress. I asked my mom just to make sure, though. My representatives are Joseph Biden, Mary Peltola, Lisa Murkowski, and Dan Sullivan.
2. What effect can letters to representatives have in the political process?
Hypothetically, letters from the people allow representatives to know what their voters are thinking, feeling, and needing. This helps them to represent citizens better. However, in real life, the relationship between voters’ feedback and politicians is volatile and often unreliable. Just because I tell my representatives what I think doesn’t mean they will act on it.
3. What was the process like for your letter? How did you feel when submitting it? What was challenging? What was easy?
I didn’t want to write about any heated political issues, partly because politicians probably receive many such letters, and partly because I don’t feel particularly strongly about many policies at all. I thought of a thesis that I do support (changing imperial units to metric in the United States) and cited several sources that supported my point. When I submitted it, I felt rather frustrated, due to the lack of ready information on how to contact representatives. The White House had the best information, even giving citizens a direct link to email them. However, the amount of space was highly limited and I had to email Mr. Biden from my account after searching for the correct address. I was unable to find our senators and Ms. Peltola’s email address anywhere, so I looked for their physical address and mailed three copies of my letter to those offices. That was definitely the most challenging part of the process. I would say the easiest part was writing the letter itself. This was an interesting assignment. Certainly I never would contact my representatives with my own motivation. I learned quite a lot and I feel happy with the result of this practicum.