Posted on 04/18/2021 9:25:40 AM PDT by DFG
A nomination is required to attend West Point. There are two types: Congressional (your Representative or one of your State’s Senators) and Service-Connected.
Not exactly true, though I guess it depends on how you define ‘Service-Connected’.
Back in the mid-’60s, I spent my junior and senior years of high school at an “Honor” Military Academy. The ‘Honor’ part meant we had a full-time military staff on campus. In this case, a Captain, a Master Sergeant, 3 or 4 Staff Sergeants, and a couple of Corporals. This was in addition to our civilian instructors.
We had courses in Military History, Tactics, Strategy, Marksmanship, Self-Defense, and Unarmed Combat, as well as our traditional high school courses. In other words, the full ROTC program.
The other part of the ‘Honor’ designation was that the school got to made appointments to all the service academies. In this case, I got the appointment to the Air Force Academy, but turned it down because I wanted to fly, but my eyes were borderline.
If you have to cheat on a freshman calculus exam to pass you are not going to survive the four years.
My experience in taking, teaching, and tutoring courses in calculus suggests you are 100% correct. My first calculus teacher told me that most of her students have problems with calculus because they are weak in high school algebra and trig.
This is disappointing. Something similar happened at Harvard with athletes about 5 yrs ago. You don’t expect it at WP! Again with the athletes. Would not surprise me if some came through WP prep. If you are an asset to the team they graduate you and move you on to the academy.
No wonder they finally started beating Navy.
Why did WP initiate a 2nd chance program??? It was unnecessary. Now they cancelled it.
I think that high intelligence and a very good memory can mask the fact that one lacks real understanding of math concepts.
I know of a young lady who was struggling in algebra. It turned out the she lacked understanding of how to handle fractions. Her problem was not with algebra at all but with arithmetic.
I think many people would benefit from having to demonstrate a higher level of mastery before advancing from one level of math to the next. Remedial math courses in college are a sign that our math teaching in high school is missing the mark.
Yep, functional calculus ability is mandatory in most of the sciences and all of the engineering fields (except environmental engineering IIRC).
Calculus is a big step past the mathematical rigidity of algebra, trigonometry and geometry (1+1=2) and more so dealing with moving targets (1+1= 2 at what rate or what time in the future). It twists the thought process and brain.
For myself, I never had to directly work through solving differential equations one time after college. However, the brain training was essential working through complex situations.
By brain training, I use this concept as conditioning the brain towards how to think as opposed to what to think. Calculus, I believe, opens that door. From others I have crossed paths with, I think that classical philosophy, theology and literature also train the brain in that way. YMMV on this opinion.
The purpose of an education is to develop a “BS Meter”.
“The way to pass Amy math class is to work all the problems. Spend time in the prof’s office.”
Learned that lesson at Field Artillery Officer Basic Course - always attend the EI (Extra Instruction) sessions offered before major tests. This especially applied to the Gunnery classes. This wisdom was proved out in the follow-on course for Missile Officers which was a deeper dive into trig and calculus for computing firing solutions.
Imaginary numbers were the mathematical death of me.
Algebra, trig, geometry ... all of those are based on solids things that I can picture ...1+1=2 etc .. and for which I always passed with flying colors. Calculus ended any potential that I had for anything for which it was required ...
Yep, and many of those held back were not. Looks bad otherwise, don’t you know.
Passing calculus usually means that you have mastered quite a bit of mathematics before calculus. If West Point is admitting students who do not have the prerequisite knowledge, they will have a very hard time trying to learn calculus. So far affirmative action, otherwise unqualified, admissions do not work in math.
Captain Kirk cheated.
He changed the conditions of the test.
He did it on the sneak, same difference.
That said, Kirk was the best of all of them. He was all the time beating someone up who always had it coming, or romancing some young lady, human or not.
In fact, he and Uhuru... I’m sure you recall. But I digress...
you are right they should be but my guess is that if they expelled them all it would actually hurt are combat reediness. if it had only been under a dozen my bet all would of been expelled ... this shows a rot within the cadet core that needs to be cleaned....would love to hear a freeper’s opinion that went to West Point, Annapolis or the Air Force Academy. I am sure we have a few posting here.
Yep. And often it’s the same gaps in knowledge/practice for most students (e.g. trig identities). One thing they did when I was in high school was require students to complete a packet of hundreds of problems covering material from all the math courses they had taken up to that point over the summer. They ended up discontinuing that due to parent complaints (though summer reading was somehow still acceptable), but it’s a good idea.
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