On the job and in daily situations at home, problems are solved and decisions made with the advice and input of others. While in school situations, teamwork is not as of-ten encouraged, at home, and in the community, individuals must work together to solve problems and more forward. Parents, workers, and community members use problem solving and reasoning to reach decisions. Being able to problem solve successfully in the workplace gives workers more confidence, which in turn, gives them more of a voice. They need to maintain budgets and comparison shop.
Adults also use problem solving strat-egies to better understand how their money is manipulated.
Adults, in their role as citizens, also have to solve problems and make decisions using numbers. Processes such as problem solving are viewed as more than just a topic to be covered in an adult education classroom. Mathematics must be real, not just pseudo-real problems in a book. Reasoning and problem solving should be integrated in all teaching. Even when teaching basic skills, such as reading, writing, and math, higher level thinking skills such as reasoning, problem solving, and decision making should be incorporated into the lessons.