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, NPR’s Robert Siegel pointed out the low graduation rate in the community college system (48% for an associate’s degree), and then asked Oakley if ditching algebra wasn’t 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 student’s ability to reason or to do some sort of quantitative measure is algebra.
“What we’re saying is we want as rigorous a course as possible to determine a student’s 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, we’ve 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 — we’ve 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 they’re in. They can see how it works in their daily life and how it’s 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 I’ve ever seen. I think I’m going to do more stuff like this.”
[A]: We’re certainly not saying that we’re going to commit students to lower levels of math or different kinds of math. What we’re 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 we’re talking about that will allow them to continue into STEM majors. We don’t want to limit students.
The last thing I’d say is that we are already tracking students. We are already relegating students to a life of below livable wage standards. So we’ve already done so, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Here’s a good debate on the merits of taking algebra, and this site provides good examples of when you use algebra … and don’t even realize it.
“Why are young people so bad at math?!”
But they’re proficient at putting on a rubber. They’ve been teaching them how do do that since the 4th grade. Isn’t it great how effective your taxes dollars have been spent?
Here are a few practical algebra problems ...
1. Little Johnny has an AK 47 with a 30 round clip. He usually misses 6 out of every 10 shots and he uses 13 rounds per drive-by shooting. How many drive-by shootings can Little Johnny attempt before he has to reload? 2. Jose has 2 ounces of cocaine. If he sells an 8 ball to Antonio for $320 and 2 grams to Juan for $85 per gram, what is the street value of the rest of his hold? 3. Rufus pimps 3 hos. If the price is $85 per trick, how many tricks per day must each ho turn to support Rufus's $800 per day crack habit? 4. Jerome wants to cut the pound of cocaine he bought for $40,000 to make 20% profit. How many ounces will he need? 5. Willie gets $200 for a stolen BMW, $150 for stealing a Corvette, and $100 for a 4x4. If he steals 1 BMW, 2 Corvettes and 3 4x4's, how many more Corvettes must he have to steal to have $900? 6. Raoul got 6 years for murder. He also got $10,000 for the hit. If his common-law wife spends $100 per month, how much money will be left when he gets out? Extra credit bonus: how much more time will he get for killing the ho that spent his money? 7. If an average can of spray paint covers 22 square feet and the average letter is 3 square feet, how many letters can be sprayed with 3 eight ounce cans of spray paint with 20% paint free? 8. Hector knocked up 3 girls in the gang. There are 27 girls in his gang. What is the exact percentage of girls Hector knocked up? 9. Bernie is a lookout for the gang. Bernie has a Boa Constrictor that eats 3 small rats per week at a cost of $5 per rat. If Bernie makes $700 a week as a lookout, how many weeks can he feed the Boa on one week's income? 10. Billy steals Joe's skateboard. As Billy skates away at 35 mph, Joe loads his 357 Magnum. If it takes Joe 20 seconds to load his magnum, how far away will Billy be when he gets whacked?
Once again a stupid person is worth more to them than a smart one, a smart one may not accept thier agenda if they are free thinkers unless they suffer from the same affliction, “mental illness”
Is a degree even necessary for most jobs in the economy?
I read recently that a plurality (or even majority) of Republicans think that colleges do more harm than good. Democrats thought the opposite of course. But leaving aside political indoctrination accusations, the honest observer has to ask if the costs of a university education really are a wise investment for students who outside of STEM fields who want to teach. Student loan debt is supposed to be a crisis.
Superfly SEALs.
it’ll be dope.
They’ll smoke dope.
Gotta have algebra, calculus, chemistry, physics, biology. Got to.
With these in your armamentarium, you can dissect and refute a specious argument from a lib.
You must be able to do this in real time.
These subjects in bare but true form must be a part of your operating system.
Grammar, logic, and rhetoric also, to make a bulletproof argument with whatever issue you tackle with a lib or snowflake or gimmedat.
You must be able to snip up their arguments instantly, because they are being programmed with false narratives by people who really do know what they are doing, and who are trying to enslave you.
Must have all these tools in your toolkit. Or be a slave.
That teacher is using a chair on the blackboard. That is punk rock.
Points for using the word “broker”.
It’s time to drop college.
It’s time to drop college.
Ditto here. Algebra was fun and very relaxing, a vacation.
You nailed it.
I went to a good HS in the N.E. and I chose shop courses and wanted to also take algebra because I had a knack for math. They wouldn’t let me. I had to take more basic math because I chose shop. Wouldn’t want some blue collar guy knowing that advanced stuff ya know.
Doesn’t it seem strange that the black race finds it very hard to learn algebra, the white race has some difficulty with it and the yellow race excels at it?
Strange, strange indeed! I wonder why? On the other hand, I think I know why.
It gives your mind some necessary exercise. But we should have a college track and a different track for those not going to college.
LOL that was hilarious.
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