Dumbing down requirements until no one fails is a pathetic plan and just avoids reality.
The US refuses to “track” students who display no aptitude for “intellectual education” into vocational or technical training, or anything that might make them employable. It is a fact of life that half the population has an IQ on the down side of 100, but many children who are not geniuses have valuable lives, skills, talents and a great deal to offer. Why can’t we spend resources on training that is relevant to their aptitudes and lives? We are too proud and too PC to admit the obvious, much to the detriment of public school students and the nation.
That said, most children can learn basic mathematics if the subject is taught competently, and as others have written, learning math is mostly a matter of discipline over time. (Even computer math-learning software works if used properly). The US is far behind many “Third World” countries in math and science education, mostly because we set low standards and have too many incompetent teachers. Most, though not all, decent paying jobs seem to be in fields that do require math skills. Too many adults in America can’t even do their own tax returns, understand the falsified unemployment stats, etc.
Well said.
The cookie cutter approach to education ignores individual strengths and weaknesses.
Why not allow liberal arts majors to concentrate on their area of ability and interest, and those who wish to pursue a technical career to put their time and energy into furthering their academic goals, rather than wasting time on irrelevant courses? Why attempt to force a square peg into a round hole?