<p>The following NYT article seems to suggest that math is too hard for students in the United States.</p>
<p>Hmm, from what I saw in the classes of my children's school I thought it was too easy compared to the math taught in some other countries.</p>
<p>Too easy, especially in middle school. If middle school math were taught better, fewer kids would fail in high school.</p>
<p>Comparing math education in the US to math education in Germany, the main difference seems to be that German schools do not pass students who are struggling with the material. If you can’t pass your math exams, you are held back and repeat the class. Passing under-performing students seems to happen in all subjects in the US; it’s most problematic in math and English though because the material in each year builds up on the previous year. </p>
<p>I do agree with the author of the article that the math we teach in high school may not be the most relevant to most people. It might make more sense to teach statistics than trigonometry, for example. That being said, I don’t see how you could teach statistics or basic financial mathematics without teaching algebra first. </p>
<p>Also, why are we only applying this reasoning to math? Studying literature doesn’t seem to benefit most students either. Why not practice critical reading skills on nonfiction that’s more relevant to today’s life? Why are we still more likely to study art history than modern graphics and web design?</p>
<p>If anything, I think it’s too easy. My son gets mostly As in math with very little work being done. He’s a rising senior who will be taking Calculus this year. I guess the true test of “is math too hard” will come when he goes to college-that’ll tell the story.</p>
<p>My local paper just carried a story about families upset by new HS grad requirement of 4 years of math - but all concerned felt their kids were college bound.</p>
<p>I think the test is how each step in the system prepares you for the next rung on the ladder - since so many of our kids need remedial math (and reading for that matter) at the college level, I would say the anser is no. It may be too difficult for some students but they are not prepared for college level work at high school graduation.</p>
<p>If anything, is way way too easy. Just look at how bad the US does compared to other countries in standardized math tests.</p>
<p>A better question might be how much math do people really need. Except for some more technical areas, little beyond basic math, algebra, and stats is ever needed the rest of your life in most professional or other jobs.</p>
<p>If we limit the question to “how much math will we use in our day to day lives” then the math is too much, so is the history and the literature for most of the population. The question shouldn’t be about what we think we will need or use in our every day life, the question is what does it mean to be well educated?</p>
<p>An intelligent person can function, earn a good living and provide for their families without a college education, but would we consider this person well-educated?</p>
<p>Hacker seems willing to turn our university system into vocational school - adding “poet” to the list of vocational options. Not my vision of education - not by a long shot.</p>
<p>I’ve read his book - he makes some good points but goes off on some anti-intellectual tangents as well. He is not a fan of knowledge for knowledge sake.</p>
<p>If we adopt the logic of the author we should simply send far fewer students to college.</p>
<p>This article simply speaks to the downfall of the education system in America. Many people seem to have trouble with Algebra, so why don’t we just get rid of it as a requirement and instead replace it with a class that helps someone learn how to calculate a Consumer Price Index?</p>
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I don’t think most people would mind not going to college if it wasn’t practically required for most middle class jobs these days. How many people would go into debt for learning’s sake alone?</p>
<p>The title of the article is sensationalized and polarizing, to bring in readers. Sadly, the title also keeps people from seeing the important and valid points of the article. </p>
<p>For some people, the inability to perform well in Algebra prevents them from getting further in education, prevents them from even graduating high school. Is Algebra is such an important, critical life skill? Or maybe Algebra is not as important as other math skills that come up regularly in daily life, and those are the skills every high school graduate should have. Maybe all college bound kids should know Algebra, but if the high school is the terminal degree, maybe something else should be emphasized.</p>
<p>We are not talking about the kids on cc.</p>
<p>When we define education as learning only what we already know that we need we will cease to develop any new knowledge or technology. Knowledge for knowledge sake is the ground work for the further development of civilization and technology. </p>
<p>Going into debt for education is a different question - separate from definine what education is. Plenty of kids go into huge debt for worthless vocational courses at for profit universities across the country, but that’s a separate argument.</p>
<p>Algebra mastery is an indicator of later STEM success rather a barrier to entry. </p>
<p>Algebra mastery is like a 40 yard dash time of 6 seconds for would-be athletes: virtually all college and pro athletes have 40 yard dash times of less than 6 seconds; those who can’t meet the simple standard are unlikely to succeed at the complex task.</p>
<p>parentOfJunior–I would agree, that was what we found as well. I know our middle school is working hard to improve that though. It would be as simple as allowing more kids to take the higher level math classes…but they didn’t ask me :D.</p>
<p>One thing I have found in our state though, the math taught on the state standard tests, for the better students, is about 3 grades behind what they are doing in math the year they take that test (junior year). Our school, thankfully, doesn’t spend much time prepping kids for the test. They review information for about a week before the test and most kids in our school pass the test, but they don’t have super high scores on the test–which is fine. I don’t know how to equalize that test so it is testing those kids at the level at which they are at without penalizing those that aren’t as strong in math though??</p>
<p>I am NOT a math person but found Algebra to be the “easiest” math so go figure.</p>
<p>I think too many people, elementary teachers included, don’t appreciate that algebra is form of logic applicable to almost every profession and life situation. It is not just about x and y and ‘how many hours does it take the car to overtake the train?’. I have really enjoyed the interviews NPR airs periodically with Stanford mathematician Keith Devlin. He describes the ‘evolution’ of algebra as we know it today, and points out that much of the difficulty kids face with algebra has to do with the way it is taught. Algebraic logic can be difficult and is not necessarily intuitive in the same way as arithmetic , but the point is that anyone can learn algebra with enough effort, and everyone who learns it will benefit in their everyday lives.</p>
<p>[What</a> is algebra? profkeithdevlin](<a href=“http://profkeithdevlin.org/2011/11/20/what-is-algebra/]What”>What is algebra? – profkeithdevlin.org)</p>
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<p>I think an issue with maths in the states is that kids simply are not willing to put enough effort in.</p>
<p>In “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, a lady spent upwards of at least 20 minutes (can’t remember the exact number) in order to learn a concept. However, when she learned the concept, she learned it properly. The author continued to say that most students would simply not be willing to put that much time into learning and instead like to say that “I’m just now a math person.”</p>
<p>At the same time, the fact also is that most teachers, even from elementary school are not all too comfortable with math (Fareed Zakaria special), so the very people teaching math to American children do not like it all that much themselves. This can be harmful for impressionable young students. </p>
<p>So there is both an attitude/mentality issue as well as a quality of teachers issue. I don’t know how to fix the former, and the latter has been an ongoing issue.</p>
<p>Anyways, in Canada, where i live at least (and we are known for having a school system that people across the globe are mimicking)- there are different “tracks”. Kids have the choice to take Math 10-1, Math 10-2, Math 10-3. Each level of math is designed for students of different learning abilities, and there are different tracks for each subject. The same key concepts are taught, but at differing speeds/depth.</p>
<p>That way, a student interested in Social Studies but weak in math can take Social Studies (Grade Level)- 1 and Math (Grade level)-2. Students interested in different university programs (Arts, science etc) can take different classes and play to their strengths and enter their desired programs. </p>
<p>I think that’s pretty effective. The government should design different “Tracks” for each subject and detail the curriculum somewhat so that certain “key” concepts are covered. The rest can be left to the discretion of the teachers. The tracks can hold for all mandated classes, and if the “tracked subjects” have corresponding AP/honours classes, the track-1 concepts can be taught in conjunction with that curriculum.</p>
<p>I think that would be pretty effective- get all kids to learn “key” concepts at the level that’s best for them.</p>
<p>Just a student’s 0.02 cents. For CC/mathy kids, there are obviously different needs, but this is for the general population.</p>
<p>it’s the huge need for socializing, the inability of children that age to prioritize and work for a long term gain, the constant distractions of electronics/games and in some case the brain’s unreadiness for abstract concepts that makes it hard to push math in middle school</p>
<p>It’s hard to teach math in middle school if you’ve put it on the back burner for elementary school…</p>
<p>Many people have talents that do not include feeling comfortable with advanced or even basic math. One could say writing a great book or song takes a very strong talent and intellect yet many in the arts have no facility in math. Does that mean they are uneducated or just differently educated? Or what about peole with very high social IQs who can read people like a book but cannot balance a checkbook?</p>
<p>Everyone should be required to know some math. Mathematical thinking has a host of benefits, beyond simple calculations.</p>
<p>There just needs to be different options or “Tracks” for people of different abilities to follow, so that people learn to their level and are taught in a way that suits them (i.e. slower pace, more handholding etc.) It’s very effective in Canada.</p>