Posted on 07/22/2017 5:15:30 PM PDT by grundle
The chancellor of the California community college system has stated that institutions algebra requirements are the biggest barrier for underemployed or unemployed Americans, and as such is a civil rights issue.
According to NPR, Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley is among a growing number of educators who view intermediate algebra as an obstacle to students obtaining their credentials particularly in fields that require no higher level math skills.
In an interview with the chancellor, NPRs Robert Siegel pointed out the low graduation rate in the community college system (48% for an associates degree), and then asked Oakley if ditching algebra wasnt just the easy way out.
Oakley retorted I hear that a lot and unfortunately nothing could be farther from the truth. Somewhere along the lines, since the 1950s, we decided that the only measure of a students ability to reason or to do some sort of quantitative measure is algebra.
What were saying is we want as rigorous a course as possible to determine a students ability to succeed, but it should be relevant to their course of study. There are other math courses that we could introduce that tell us a lot more about our students.
From the interview:
[Q]: Bob Moses , the civil rights activist, started the Algebra Project, teaching concepts of algebra to black students in the South. He saw the teaching of math as a continuation of the civil rights struggle.
Rates of failure in algebra are higher for minority groups than they are for white students. Why do you think that is? Do you think a different curriculum would have less disparate results by ethnic or racial group?
[A]: First of all, weve seen in the data from many of the pilots across the country that are using alternative math pathways that are just as rigorous as an algebra course weve seen much greater success for students because many of these students can relate to these different kinds of math depending on which program of study theyre in. They can see how it works in their daily life and how its going to work in their career.
[Q]: Do you risk a negative form of tracking? Depriving a student of the possibility of saying in community college: Wow, that quadratic equation is the most interesting thing Ive ever seen. I think Im going to do more stuff like this.
[A]: Were certainly not saying that were going to commit students to lower levels of math or different kinds of math. What were saying is we want more students to have math skills that allow them to keep moving forward. We want to build bridges between the kinds of math pathways were talking about that will allow them to continue into STEM majors. We dont want to limit students.
The last thing Id say is that we are already tracking students. We are already relegating students to a life of below livable wage standards. So weve already done so, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Heres a good debate on the merits of taking algebra, and this site provides good examples of when you use algebra
and dont even realize it.
Oh I am very happy,so not sure why you feel you have to write the crap you did.
Plumbers and electricians, builders, all need knowledge of math. My field is accounting and finance so of course I have to use algebra, statistics, etc. But almost everything in life is built on math.
Geometry is very important as well.
The senator from New York, who worked for Johnson, senator Moynihan coined the term ‘dumbing down”....a group. This has metastasized to everyone in government schools thus dumbing down all students. This maneuver isn’t even subtle. We are rushing to mediocracy and failure. We are institutional designing failure.
The nuns made math fun! We were engaged and competitive.
Geometry and Calculus were fun.
Our parents valued our education; that was drilled into our mushy heads.
Schools today, are just holding cells for the inner city utes of whom this article infers. Jail is their future. Not a lack of the knowledge of Algebra.
More a lack of the value of an education.
I think English has been dropped too.
Algebra teaches one the relationship of variables in an analytical way. You may not had to solve an algebraic equation this last week but you likely viewed a graph or chart and understood how variables effected the outcome quantitatively.
I work in Excel spreadsheets daily and I used algebraic equations in them on a regular basis.
Also, if one ever uses a Hewlett Packard calculator with RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) format, a good grasp of algebra is necessary to operate it correctly. :-)
That’s why it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round. Every individual has different interests and skills. But when earning a college degree, or high school diploma for that matter, one should be able to pass a class in all areas of study.
A few months ago I saw a Texas Instruments calculator (A TI-Nspire CX) on clearance for only $50.
My math skills have been going down hill since the 1980s and I thought maybe this would be a way to begin re-acquiring them.
I got it out, charged it and tried to figure it out. There were no real instructions, I guess you have to get them off the internet.
Anyway, my 70 year old mind could not even start to figure it out. I do wish I could be a 14 year old kid again. I will just give it to my Grandson.
If you were going to major in any science degrees, you sure needed it. No one gave you just a *pass*; you had to earn you grades.
FWIW, a week doesn’t go by that I am not appalled at the inability of teens to do simple math, when money changes hands. Pathetic. They are not worth a minimum wage.
Business owners must tear their hair out, justifying cash drawers at the end of the day.
A kid today goes to work in a store....
the cash register calculates the sales tax.....
figures how change to make....
The kid only has to punch the buttons...
Probably true for any productive job. But you can make good money in unionized education, academia and many federal grant mining activities that have little connection to math, science or logic and that produce nothing of - positive - value.
Yup. When I said math is important, I meant it to include geometry as well as algebra. There have been times when I hired contractors to do work for me, and I have had to correct them or their workers on several occasions. To be honest, some weren't that good at math but managed to get jobs done by trial and error - with the wasted materials that goes along with mistakes. Recently had to eat the extra costs in a bathroom remodel because the contractor made mistakes on calculating needed materials, which were my responsibility to choose design and buy; some were last in stock and non-returnable. I've got extra wall and floor tiles I won't be able to use elsewhere, and had to scrounge up other under-calculated items. Good thing he was one of the lowest bids on the job. Same for a crew that did a fence for me, mis-calculations on materials.
Why are young people so bad at math?!
I’m guessing you paid for the materials? Easier for the contractor to buy a bunch extra to save him an extra trip when he messes up on one too many tiles.
I recall working with my dad on home-building projects. We could do the math okay. I was always amazed at his carpenters that could use their right-angle measuring things with all of the shorthand calculations on it. That was a real mystery to me - like a slide-rule was!
In an interview with the chancellor, NPRs Robert Siegel pointed out the low graduation rate in the community college system (48% for an associates degree), and then asked Oakley if ditching algebra wasnt just the easy way out.
They are implying that 100% of the 48% who drop out did so because of an algebra class? I don’t buy it.
In 2012, it was about money and laziness... Now it is Algebra? And we need to change requirements? Hmmm.
http://www.brighthub.com/education/college/articles/82378.aspx
Main Reason Students Drop Out of College:
Why is the number of dropouts so high? Granted, some students drop out because theyre too lazy to apply themselves, while others drop out because they really arent interested in obtaining a higher education and only enrolled to please their parents or because their friends were going to college. However, these students seem to be in the minority. According to a study conducted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2009, the main reason students drop out of college is because they need money for survival” (Allgov.com).
That's the goal. As the article makes clear, this is about "credentials." The point is to get a bachelor's degree participation trophy for everyone. Unfortunately, stupid is as stupid does, and simply pretending someone is smarter doesn't make him so.
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