"Is Algebra Necessary?"

So the Apocalypse is back on then...

Though, Geometry was always the bane of my existence, not Algerbra.

Yes,  it should be taught much earlier than it is now.  Algebra is not the only way to develop critical thinking skills, but it is the best.   It does favour those who are visual learners as opposed to those who are verbal learners.   I don't hold to the old argument that one's brain is hardwired as a verbal learner or a visual learner, and if so if one is good at math skills then one is deficient in verbal skills, and vice versa.  Within reason, we all have the ability to learn either way.   The good teacher will adapt to the individual student and present the material in the way that is best suited to the individual students mode of learning.   This takes more effort that most math teachers (especially high school math teachers)  are capable of doing, for what ever reason.   

Currently I am teaching developmental algebra at a community college.  It is a zero level course.   Upon being accepted to our school all students must take a placement test.    The student who bring deficient verbal or math skills must take these remedial classes before they are allowed to take the beginning college level classes.  

I take pride in what I do and I have the highest success rate of any of our current developmental algebra instructors.   I am patient with my students, I present the information in both visual and verbal form.   I have had more than a few of my former students tell me that I am the first math instructor that they could understand and succeed with the material that they are responsible for. Some have told me that they are no longer afraid of math and have gone on to do well in the higher math classes.  Do all of my students get through my class on the first try?  Well, no, but it's not for my lack of trying.  

Is algebra necessary for everyone? No, it is not.  But it should be accessible to all who are capable of doing it.   And unless the individual actually has some form of brain trauma, I think all people are capable of learning it.   Why should all who are capable of doing it learn it?  Well again, it's the best tool to develop critical thinking skills in an individual. 

The more I think about it, the more it all makes sense to me. The guy who teaches political science doesn't understand the value of understanding math concepts. And the state of the budget. Not to mention the apparently high value of stupid in top politicians. This explains soooo much...

There is a lot of stuff I had to learn in the course of becoming a doctor that has little to nothing to do with what the day-to-day work of being a doctor is about (how many times did I have to memorize that stupid Krebs cycle?). But a lot if it helped me to master the ability to take in information in vast quantities and then regurgitate and synthesize them - a skill set much more valuable to me professionally, and one which it is hard to imagine learning in other ways.

I wouldn't mind seeing less high-level emphasis if a student is clearly not heading in that direction. Algebra = yes. Making them push all the way to Calculus in high school when they are nearly failing (but exceeding in other subjects) = no.

That was my experience. It sucked, and gave me life-long disdain for mathematics. 

Maybe that has more to do with the WAY it was taught. I had horrible experiences in school with both history and PE. I hated both as a result. I picked my college, in part, on the fact that there was not only no PE requirement, but not even a PE class to take, so there would be no risk of having to engage in some sort of physical activity. People who knew me from HS were obviously surprised to learn I later became a triathlete (along with a number of other athletic/outdoorsy pursuits), so deep was my hatred of PE.

And I took my first history class in college as a senior - and ended up enjoying it so much that I took another the next semester, and have developed a love of history that was nearly extinguished due to the exceptionally poor teaching I received years earlier.

I think bad teaching does more to destroy people's interests than anything else, while good teaching makes people excited to learn more. Even if you are not "heading that way", knowing what is involved increases your appreciation for higher level achievements. Here's my athletic analogy: for years, I enjoyed reading "mountain porn" - you know, stories about things going badly (or sometimes well) for mountain climbers. I had done some rock climbing, and a little ice climbing. Then I took a class and attempted a trip at the Grand Tetons, and while I don't EVER expect to do it again (if it was a class, I would have gotten a C+ or B- at best...), I have a greater understanding of and appreciation for what people are going through when they attempt challenging peaks.

Wow... not sure what to say. Simple algabra is just the manipulation of equations. And for most engineering work algebra is invaluable. Even just looking at an "equation" and not being freaked out by it is worth something. Equations govern our life.

Now this is coming from a science guy. Physics was my favorite subject. I went into Naval Nuke school.... except I hate math. I just don't get classroom math out of a text book. It was my worst subject in school, and my worst in nuke school... but I did pass. The only thing that kept me from getting a ME degree was because I knew the math work was going to be a real grind. More than likely have to take a couple over, make a long degree longer...

However, never once did I think it was stupid, or useless. Actually the real life "application" of math I have no problem with. What I have, what I need, how I need to get there, why I need to get there.... makes perfect sense in real life. But I would never say we don't need it, or that it is too hard, or it is keeping smart people from doing the job... smart engineers do math. It's sort of important. I'm OK with not being one. I have met a lot of engineers that can get up on a board at the drop of a hat and do any work you need done. Smart people.

Great post man.  I had never gotten lower than a B in school...until Pre-Calculus!  I got a stinkin' D!  Never mind I had a 680 Math SAT score (and that I LOVE numbers-calculations-etc.) I was so disheartened, I didn't go into Calculus as the teacher recommended for the next year.  I ran away!  

I didn't take Calculus again until years later as a pre-requisite for getting a Masters...and I LOVED IT!  Teachers make a big difference.  If my memory serves me correctly, having fine pace booty sitting in the chair right in front of me in pre-calc. did NOT help my grade either!  Ha!  For Calculus in college I sat in the front row...no distractions.

Note to parents of boys, pre-calculus success is inversely related to proximity of hot chicks in the direct line of sight between student and teacher.

There was a period when whale tails were popular.  In my classes, if visible, these students were asked to move to the back row.   They all complied, mostly with a smile.  

The trials and tribulation of being a teacher.........

Right, but you addressed the silly way math is taught even to engineers. I can appreciate not teaching "higher" math to kids in HS that don't care... but for HS, what is "higher"? I don't see geometry and algebra as being too crazy. And even for me, the text book stuff is hard, but in real life it is useful. Solving for an unknown is not that uncommon in th real world with simple problems with bank accounts and personal budgets.

for higher education... well most stuff I ever saw had you stop at algebra II for non scientific degrees. Not that crazy either. And again... perhaps the English major is not going to be having fun with the gang and quadratic equations, but it does introduce one to basic problem solving in a an analytical way. So while they may hate the class and glad they passed with a c-, it does not mean they did not get anything out of it for real life.

I always had trouble with pure theory in class at any level.  But swap that math class for an applied engineering class and explain how this stuff gets used in real life?  Everything clicked.

I remember differential equations in some dry textbook written by a math prof who's so far in the clouds he can't teach "peons" and I was falling asleep, frustrated, or impatient.  Show me how it's applied to shock absorbers, drag, electronics... my grades suddenly improved.

You could make this same argument about nearly EVERYTHING that one takes in HS. When is the last time you needed to conjugate a verb in a foreign language, or diagram a sentence, or identify the factors that led to the Magna Carta, or identify the capital and chief exports of Bolivia?

As for the issue of avoiding certain majors, that is college. You are supposed to spend time figuring out what is interesting to you. But without some sort of of groundwork, how are you going to do that?

If we start to say about certain subjects "This is going to be hard/boring/unimportant in life so you can just skip it", I can guarantee you that a larger number of students will simply avoid them without even trying to be exposed. And the dumbing down of America will continue.

WORD

That's cool.

Then look at me... I am actually one of those "ones" turned away at the mountain of math course work that lay before me... yet I am not digging ditches. I work in a very technical field, making good money, and am quite good at what I do. I use the skill set I have. I don't have the sheepskin on the wall, but I am far from a guy wasting away at McDonald's because math class turned me into an victim of the system.

That might be true. But I realized about my junior year in high school I was not wired to "get" math easily. Yet due to credit requirements I still had to take Calc, Trig, etc. In my perfect world I would have been able to get on a "track" that would have set me up for success rather than failure. As a junior in high school, having taken Algebra 1 (in 8th grade), Algebra 2, and Geometry - I certainly thought I had a good enough base for someone not perusing anything related to math.

In college as a business major I had to take Algebra and Business Calculus - both of which I loved the teacher but again, struggled immensely. Now those classes were my choice as a business major (and I changed majors a year later) but maybe it goes to show it wasn't just the teacher.

To flip the coin, as someone who is wired to "get" a subject like English with ease - I think the basics like English 101 and 102 should be a requirement, but English Lit? Poetry? Creative Writing? Those subjects, for people who aren't perusing anything related, aren't setting them up for success. Like the higher level math classes for others.

I think this is the point that we all can agree on, English Lit and Poetry are not basics like English 101 and 102.  Algebra is still what is considered basic math.  Calc and Trig are considered the equivalent of advanced math.

That is where the disagreement throughout this topic lies.  Algebra is used in every part of life.  It is the solving of the unknown in every equation.  No we don't all need to learn about quadratic equations, but we all should be able to solve for x in a simple equation.

Regarding teaching alegebra at an earlier age - my n= (well, maybe 30) experience.

My youngest (now age 9) has had benefit of having the same teacher two years in a row, and this teacher places a big emphasis on mathematics and logic.

I kept asking what Ben was doing at school (the teacher didn't believe in homework for 3rd graders), and as he explained it, I realized this wasn't simple multiplication/division types of problems.

A one point last year, you could give any kid in the class 5 random numbers and they would form an equation to make the first 4 equal the last number. (Among many other cool displays of algebra).  The teacher also teaches every kid to play chess, and other strategy games.

The result?  I believe the teacher had the highest in-year progress on the standardized exams in the school.

Algebra is not math as much as it is logic.  And this country could use a bit more logic these days.