<p>If you look up Algebra on Google there are TONS of articles about 'How Hard Algebra Is.' Why are people struggling with Algebra? I'm pretty sure that none of you guys are, as I'm not, but what about our peers? One of my bests friend FAILED Algebra. She would always tell me that it was so hard and she couldn't understand it. </p>
<p>I read an interesting article stating that Algebra was so hard for people because 'it's unlike no other.' It also said that the concepts behind algebra were way too hard for students, and that we should be able to apply Algebra to our life. Yes, we do algebra pretty much every day in our minds, whether you believe it or not, but they shouldn't critique every little thing. </p>
<p>So, there are two questions here, do you think that Algebra is all that hard, and do you think that it should still be taught.</p>
<p>Personally, I think that it is super easy. It is my favorite subject in math, and I could do it all day long. I think that it should also be taught. I love Algebra, and that's one of the main reasons that I want to be a High school math teacher...I feel like I could change someone's perspective on math. Math is usually a subject that people don't understand or they don't like, and although I cannot make people love it, I want people to appreciate it. </p>
<p>Before you comment, I want you to read this article:</p>
<p>I feel that some people just struggle to think abstractly in the way algebra requires. I didn’t have a problem with it (I was doing algebra at what I would learn was Algebra I level in 4th grade) but my sister does. We were both homeschooled and taught in the same way but we picked up the material differently.</p>
<p>She is learning it in a concrete way (drawings, moving stuff around, etc.) and that really helps her. I believe it is possible for everyone to learn algebra; some people just learn it differently. Some people just “get it.” Some don’t, and it takes more work. Anyone in the second group struggles in school where teacher’s can’t slow down the whole class for them. </p>
<p>Basically, some people learn algebra more easily than others, but it is possible for everyone to learn it. It should still be taught, but there need to be ways to help those who don’t get it as easily. </p>
<p>I love algebra, and I feel like it’s a thing that you either get or you don’t. It drives me up the wall when we can’t move faster in algebra 2 because I want to learn it all, but people in my class don’t know anything. It’s really sad.</p>
<p>Algebra’s also my favorite type of math and I’d also like to become a math teacher, or maybe some other type of teacher. Of course I don’t know what it’s like to not understand math, so I can’t comment on that. Sometimes when we learn new concepts I don’t get them at first and get a bit frustrated when other people in the class are shouting out answers that I don’t know, but then I go home and do the homework and I understand it.</p>
<p>I would really like to know how it feels to just completely not understand something since I always end up understanding it after doing the homework. This has led me to stereotype and think that people who don’t understand algebra are just lazy, but this is probably not true for most of them. This is why I’d like to teach a class of people who are behind at math someday so I can see how they feel.</p>
<p>Edit: I am bad at athletics, though. But that doesn’t really require understanding something.</p>
<p>Some people struggle with numbers, just like some people struggle with history, poetry, athletic skill(s), and so forth at both basic and advanced levels. The only person who’s barred from this truth is batman. </p>
<p>I think it should always be offered, but I’m against Algebra being a graduation requirement for high school. The main reason is most people won’t ever have to use it in their lives. Any math you learn after having to add, subtract, multiply, divide with decimals fractions and maybe some basic geometric concepts are never going to be relevant to the life of the average person working a normal job. That being said if you want to do anything even slightly math related then these classes become extremely important. But I think it’s a waste of time and money to force a student to take a class that they will get nothing out of when they want to become a masseuse.</p>
<p>I love Algebra! It was easy. The way I approach any type of math is I really pay attention when my teacher is explaining the formulas, equations, and why they work. After that, it’s a breeze.</p>
<p>First off, algebra is a much broader subject than what is usually taught in high school. Have you guys learned group theory or algebraic topology or Galois theory? As a math major, I find algebra hard (but interesting).</p>
<p>As for standard high school algebra, yes I think it is a subject that should be taught and required. However I have a lot of issues with the way it is taught. It should definitely include many real-world applications, that’s for sure. However, I’ve seen a lot of problems that (IMO) “attempt” to look like real-world word problems but are actually silly and make the topic look more worthless (e.g. the length of a blackboard is x^2 + 4x + 1 inches and the height is x^2 - 5 --> what is the area of the blackboard?). Algebra is used in a wide variety of fields, including computer science, physics, engineering, finance.</p>
<p>As a side note, I’m not so sure why so many people struggle with the idea that a variable (such as a letter or an apple, as one of my teachers would use) can represent a number. You can add, subtract, multiply, divide them.</p>
<p>MITer 94, I’m referring to teaching kids who have no plans to go to college or do anything even slightly math related is a waste of time and money which could be better spent improving the quality of math education for the students who will use this. That’s my point.</p>
<p>As far as how Algebra is taught, when I first took it in 7th grade I didn’t understand it at all. Mainly because when we were given formulas (ex. y=mx + b) I was clueless for the longest time what the m and the b stood for. (m=slope b= y intercept) and that was really annoying. I got the hang of it eventually though and have gotten A’s in math (Except 2nd semester Pre Calc Honors which was mostly Trig anyways) after that.</p>
<p>@RHSclassof16 the critical thinking skills acquired in algebra are useful for ALL students, regardless of what they go on to do later. Education isn’t just for people who are going to use it, it’s to build well-rounded individuals.</p>
<p>While the idea of specialized schools and courses that students would be able to join/take from freshmen year onward would indeed be interesting to talk about, I’m too busy with C.As to do so I’ll just say that if they’re failing in Algebra, they clearly aren’t learning the C.T skills that are gotten out of the class.</p>
<p>@MITer94 Truth. A few weeks ago we did a proof of the FTA in math class and the professor, facetiously but quite insightfully, referred to it as the “Fundamental Theorem of Algebra II.” </p>
<p>That said, there certainly are elements of the standard high school algebra curriculum that can be quite fascinating if you think about them (although they are typically presented in a mechanical fashion). I remember being particularly intrigued by the algebra-geometry duality, that physical space could be represented abstractly as relations between variables, and vice versa. </p>
<p>Anyway, I think it’s great that you’re passionate about it, @tacoperson123, and I’m sure you’ll be able to inspire similar passion in others as a math teacher </p>
<p>Almost everyone struggles with math at some point, so I don’t think it’s particularly useful to debate whether something is objectively difficult when we should be concerned with relative difficulty. High school algebra was hard for me when I learned it. I remember struggling for a long time over simplifying square roots, things like [url=<a href=“http://www.cliffsnotes.com/assets/253341.png]this[/url”>http://www.cliffsnotes.com/assets/253341.png]this[/url</a>]. But then I studied for a while, got older, and it stopped being difficult. Sometimes all you need is temporal distance—you wait a few days/weeks/months, go back to whatever you were struggling with, and realize it’s not as bad as you thought. (Coincidentally, I dropped a graduate algebra course I signed up for this semester because it was too hard. Algebra is a broad area of mathematics and not just a high school class.)
The career goals of a high school freshman shouldn’t be taken all that seriously. Even college students change their majors, and adults change their careers. It’s possible to learn algebra as an adult, but it’s best for kids to learn it in high school if it’s even slightly likely that they’ll need it in the future. I mean, I felt handicapped by my lack of programming experience going into college (as a math major seeking a computer science minor), and that’s not nearly as fundamental as basic algebra.
I agree, but I think we tend to suffer from hindsight bias when we talk about math education. It’s important to look at everything from the perspective of a high school student wallowing in confusion trying to learn algebra, rather than from the perspective of someone who’s known it for years. My math abilities were always at least average, but I hardly ever saw anything as intuitive, simple, or beautiful from the outset. </p>
<p>I think math in general (and especially Algebra) is a class in which the teacher really determines if “non-math” kids are going to excel or not.</p>
<p>@jazzcatastrophe I think we will just have to agree to disagree on that one. A lot of students just do not care at all about school and It’s just my personal opinion that if they don’t care neither should we. (I’m a strong believer that secondary education should be required to be available to all but compulsory to none.That’s why I think the money and resources spent on trying to teach subjects like Algebra to students who will likely not even go to college is a waste of time and money that could be spent on educating the STEM students in math. Whatever critical thinking skills they may develop from the class is irrelevant in a lot of cases because they don’t take the class seriously to begin with and probably barely pass the class by copying other peoples homework and cramming right before tests. I see that stuff go on all the time and kids will pass the class with a D just enough to receive high school credit.</p>
<p>I passed algebra 1 and 2 with an a+ without even trying, whereas my sister had to get a tutor and then still continued to struggle. I do believe it’s something that should be taught, basic algebra at least is something used commonly (much more so than a science requirement such as chem) however I also think they should offer different levels. At my school they offer honors and regular algebra 1 and 2, and then for those who struggle they offer block algebra. Block algebra is a second hour of regular algebra for those who can’t grasp it as easily. This way the overall algebra class can move on the next day because algebra block allowed them an extra hour of more one on one help. </p>
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