[Shane]

“I told them that if they spent as much time practicing math as they did practicing jump shots, they’d be just as good at math as they were at basketball.’

You’ve got to love Walter Williams, he tells it like it is.

[fatboy]

Thank you Kaslin.

The message of the OP should be made every day in the USA. I’m one of those who managed to graduate with a BS Degree without algebra skills. This was 35 years ago. It has always bothered me that I don’t posess math skills beyond the very basic.

I’ve made an attempt to correct this by first self-study of basic math and pre-algebra and now I’m taking elementary algebra at my local community college. At age 54, I’m one of the older students in the class, probably the oldest.

Almost everyone in my class above age 30 is in some sort of health care field and trying to advance. It is a shame that the public schools don’t stress math more and that we only get serious about it after we are sick of not having the skills that are necessary to achieve advanced knowledge in most technical fields.

The youngsters, those who are just out of high school seem to posess a serious attitude problem.

[ConorMacNessa]

WW nails it as usual. I graduated high school in 1966 on an academic track. I was required to pass Algebra I and II, Plane and Solid Geometry and Trigonometry. My school had Calculus available but I opted not to take it. I can't remember much of the Algebra but the Geometry has stayed with me and has been of direct use several times in my career as a lawyer. More importantly, the logical and analytic tools I acquired in high school math have been crucial to my survival and advancement in life.

It is a travesty that a student can get out of high school without mathematical training. It is also a travesty that students are not required to take two years each of Latin and a modern foreign language as I was, but that is a topic for another thread.



Nos genuflectitur ad non princeps sed Princeps pacem!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[NCjim]

Excellent - thanks for posting!

[InterceptPoint]

There is no question that the Asia kids do better in school.

Are they brighter? Perhaps. But perhaps no brighter than the rest of us.

But what they have in spades is a cultural discipline that says: Do Good in School and Life Will Be Better For You. And that discipline is strictly enforced, father to son and mother to daughter. Tight disciplined and hard working families are what lead Asian kids to success in school.

[ThunderSleeps]

You’re right. We are turning out fewer and fewer graduates that know what they are doing when it comes to science, technology, engineering, and math. In particular this is worrisome to engineering-based defense contractors (ie. not services based) who need a steady supply of scientists and engineers - who are US citizens and can obtain a security clearance. I don’t think it is a problem yet, but the trends are alarming enough that several of them have taken notice and are taking action. (eg. Raytheon’s MathMovesU initiative, see http://www.mathmovesu.com/#/home)

[Oldhunk]

I was in a fast food joint a number of years ago when the cash register stopped working during my transaction. The kid behind the counter couldn’t figure out my change when I handed him a 20. He had to call in the manager. The manager pulled out his calculator to figure it out.

[onedoug]

God is a mathematician.

[Gilbo_3]

I tutored black students in math. When they complained that math was too difficult, I told them that if they spent as much time practicing math as they did practicing jump shots, they'd be just as good at math as they were at basketball. The same message of hard work and discipline applies to all students, but someone must demand it.

thats racist...!!!...wait...what ???

[central_va]

Q: What does a mathematician do when they are constipated?

A: They work it out with a pencil.

[super7man]

the rudiments of algebra, geometry and trigonometry

May I add statistics to the list?

[Pharmboy]

The Dept. of Education was formed in Oct., 1979. We sure are getting a bang for our buck, eh?

Defund the DOE and give THAT money to teachers for merit raises.

[FourPeas]

U.S. students couldn't hold a finger to the 75 percent of Shanghai students who tested proficient.

I suspect he means Singapore. Their math curriculum is well-known to be superior in teaching math concepts.

[zeugma]

Beautiful math: Fractals

[hedgetrimmer]

Government schools curricula use ‘look-say’ reading and Mathland community diaries in lieu of mathematics.

They can concentrate on social engineering the children and breaking down their ties with their families this way, and not waste time actually teaching them anything.

[wintertime]

After working with the cub scouts of our congregation, I am **convinced**! The only children in this county that are learning to read and do basic arithmetic are those kids who have parents that are doing **tons** of afterschooling IN THE HOME!

( Yeah! I am shouting! I am disgusted and exasperated. )

If there are any high standardized test scores in our county it is because of the hard work done by the parents and the kids themselves IN THE HOME! Of course, when kids do well the teachers and principals take the credit. When they do poorly they blame the parents. ( Go figure!) ( snort!)