???

I love how this article kept emphasizing that students learn and are engaged in low stress environments. This is exactly what I strive for in my classrooms (I don't know if I'm successful, but I sure do try).
What bothered me though was when I read that, "...research suggests that superior learning takes place when classroom experiences are enjoyable and relevant to students' lives, interests, and experiences". This reminded me of what I would love to do, but how am I supposed to make math 100% relevant to students' lives? Yes some math can be related to everyday life, but there are other topics I'm supposed to teach that won't make any sense until you get into higher math levels.
Most of the algebra and geometry I learned in high school was just to help me build skills for higher math. This is when I really put my all my years of knowledge to work. So what if my students are not going to pursue a career in math? What am I supposed to tell them, you need to know this for the CAHSEE?
One of my college professors confessed--most of the math we learn will not be used by us unless we are math teachers. She continued to say that math is really for becoming great critical thinkers and problem solvers. So again I ask myself, how am I supposed to make certain math topics fun and exciting when I can't relate them to student lives'?