‘It develops synaptic connections and pathways in your mind that will give you an advantage in problem solving, textual comprehension, cognition, and thinking speed in adulthood.’
yes, it may do all of that for a select few; it also has caught thousands of otherwise bright students in a vortex of failure, rendering any thought of academic excellence, well academic...
I failed miserably at algebra, and was thus deemed dim and shunted into the dustbin of low profile college application; my friends, in my estimation no smarter than I, passed the course and were used by my parents to shame and humiliate me...and as far as fostering abstract thought, coursework in logic and rhetoric would serve far better than distant mathmatical concepts...
I'm with you. Not knowing Calculus never kept me from doing what I wanted to do in life or from being a productive member of society. On the other hand, having experience in logic and rhetoric has made be a better thinker and speaker than almost anyone I know with an advanced degree, most of whom have been educated into imbecility topped with arrogance.
Algebra is easy if you follow the rules in exact order.
To be fair, I was good at math but can’t spell. Everyone has different skills and abilities.
But shutting off math to all just because some kids can’t or won’t learn it will ruin our country.