Math's Been Berry Berry Good To Me
I apologize for the ridiculously bad pun in the title here, but I just can't get past Richard Cohen's lame op-ed that insists that Algebra ought not to be required. What Cohen's failing to recognize is that students who learn algebra by the eighth grade earn much more money than those who learn it a year later, or those who never take it.
I passed the editorial to a few coworkers, who said:
“It is true that I have rarely needed algebra to do my work. It is, however, also true that I have gone through life feeling that most of the mysteries of science and engineering have been closed to me because I know so little math. And that has been a matter of real frustration to me. The author assumes that the only reason we educate people is to prepare them for the jobs they will do. There are three problems with this. The first is that there is much more to life than our jobs. The second is that few of us know with any certainty while in our teens what we will want to do with our lives. We may not look kindly on those responsible for educating us if we wake one day one day to find that a great deal that is rewarding is denied us because we lack the most basic tools needed to pursue it.”
“I read it earlier this week and had the same feelings as you. Cohen belongs to the same school of thought where one can make remarks like ”Oh, I don't do math“ or ”I hate math“ when the same person would recoil at the thought of saying ”Oh, I don't read“ or ”I hate reading.“ And never see the parallels.”
My full argument is over at the newly-redesigned Metroblogging DC and you can check it out over there, but I'm really upset about this kind of new-age bullshit thinking coming from modern media. Math is crucial. We can't forget how crucial it is to the effectiveness of our education programs and the development of science in society.
Comments:
He is saying that algebra is not important for *everybody*, and with that I heartily agree. A high school degree is supposed to be a minimum requirement type of certification - forcing everybody in the school system to pass an Algebra class just creates a whole new class of dropouts that would otherwise get along fine in the world without passing Algebra I. Our school system is totally flawed in its philosophy that there is some great body of knowledge that everybody needs to know.
Everybody needs to know how to write, read, and do basic arithmetic.
Everything else should be an elective.
Posted by Chris on February 20, 2006 — 5:15 PM
I couldn't disagree more, Chris. Basic physics, basic chem, and algebra ought to be required. So should American History 101, Language Competency and Basic Writing.
Posted by Tom Bridge on February 20, 2006 — 5:29 PM
Why? If the kid isn't interested he isn't going to really learn anything anyway. I certainly got through plenty of high school and college classes with respectable grades and a total lack of actual learning. Let's stop pretending that government knows what everybody needs to learn, and get out of the kid's way so actual learning can happen. A kid interested in physics will learn more physics in 6 weeks than the average bored student will absorb in a lifetime. And the kid interested in physics should be able to dive head first into it, instead of getting stuck wasting 4 hours on crap classes he doesn't care about.
Read this for more.
http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/2006/02/case-for-unschooling.html
Posted by Chris on February 20, 2006 — 6:13 PM
Chris, the job of the teacher is to make education interesting, and while I'll certainly argue that many teachers are failing at this task, that doesn't mean that the kids should be opted out of the subject altogether. And you're right, a kid interested in physics will learn more physics in 6 weeks, but it's a teacher's job, or a parent's job, to get their child interested in the first place.
I know you're passionate about homeschooling, and I admire your tenacity, but that doesn't mean that little Jenny doesn't need to learn Algebra. I know many people who use it daily, and who slogged through their courses in high school and junior high out of dedication or determination, or threat of grounding from their parents and now they're awful thankful for it.
Personally, I'm of the belief that we ought to come up with good benchmarks for things people should know by the time they're given a high school diploma and how they get their is up to them, but I would absolutely put Algebra on that list, along with Trig, American History, Basic English Proficiency, both reading and writing, and Western Civ 101. Second language could be argued for.
Even if Johnny doesn't like a subject, they still ought to be put through the process of learning it, because it's that process that helps us. If we have failed to teach our next generation how to educate both themselves and each other, we're failing them. We do a lot of that now, but forcing kids to learn Algebra ain't in it.
Posted by Tom Bridge on February 20, 2006 — 10:20 PM