Posted on 03/07/2006 10:12:59 AM PST by RBroadfoot
None, according to Richard Cohen of the Washington Post.
EXCERPT: I am haunted by Gabriela Ocampo. ... failing algebra six times in six semesters, trying it a seventh time and finally just despairing over ever getting it.
The L.A. school district now requires all students to pass a year of algebra ...
Here's the thing, Gabriela: You will never need to know algebra. I have never once used it and never once even rued that I could not use it. ...
Gabriela, sooner or later someone's going to tell you that algebra teaches reasoning. This is a lie propagated by, among others, algebra teachers. Writing is the highest form of reasoning. This is a fact. Algebra is not. The proof of this, Gabriela, is all the people in my high school who were whizzes at math but did not know a thing about history and could not write a readable English sentence. ...
Algebra ruined many a day for me. Now it could ruin your life.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Did you read my very first post about making change? How many nickels, dimes, and quarters does it take to equal an amount of money?
The problem is, your alegbraic equation does not account for mold because you could not use all that ketchup in time. It is a rediculas waste, algebra.
You're right. That would be a rate of change problem, which is calculus.
-PJ
I think my very first post on this thread I noted that algebra is an abstraction of mathematics. It is one of the first, if not the first, such "abstract" thinking exercises one finds in one's schooling. It is not about 2+2 being 4, it is about what we can say about numbers in general and their relationships with one another and how they obey certain rules.
I think ideally everyone should be able to learn basic algebra, but perhaps requiring it for graduation is not something the students and schools are prepared for. I know everyone didn't need algebra to graduate when I did in the 80s.
SD
-PJ
In the 70's we had to have at least one semester of algebra. I didn't do well in high school math. I was interested in other topics. But, I went to college as a non trad, started at 30, and excelled in math, 4 semesters of calc, diffEQ, etc. I was pleasantly surprised. What an esteem booster to have graduated from college, single mom of 3, and maintain 3.4 gpa in engineering. Several posters earlier on this thread talked about teaching methods deteriorating. I agree. My HS geometry teacher gave us a test, told us not to cheat, and walked out of the class for the rest of the period. That was typical. What did she think 15 year olds were going to do?
This made me think about some words I hadn't considered in a long time: associative, commutative, and distributive properties. Those are probably the first abstracts I remember being taught.
-PJ
GMTA!
My opinion is that this sounds like more dumbing down of gubmint indoctrination centers. Teachers say it is too hard to teach, kids say it will hurt their feelings if they are too stupid to learn. No problem. You don't need algebra to get a welfare check.
I had a job working with color and chemistry out of college. I was surprised how color can be derived from calculus. It was a fascinating learning process that I was able to grasp just because I knew the concept of math.
They've been dumbing down since the 50's. This is one reason I'm trying to convince my kids to homeschool their kids (and other reasons). I can teach math if they need me to. But, I didn't learn math proficiently until I was in my 30's.
Conservatives, that think themselves so detached from the masses, I think are not the norm...most have been and are the achievers, yet have failed,and been humbled by the experience, pick themselves up and go at it again and again
Remember a comment by Hillery Speech she claimed about how she was going to recognize the Maid,and or help around her...you know they are people too??? Someone help me with the Quote???
No side Left or Right has a lock on civility, and I call it Expectation BIAS!
I mostly try to figure out what type of equation fits. Like tree ring growth, or how green the grass is. I like looking at the parabolic path of jets flying overhead (from the horizon, we have a good view) with respect to time. Bridges are fascinating.
Do their imaginary friends have imaginary numbers?
-PJ
Seeing as how this algebra thing got 612 posts (and I surely didn't read them all), I would guess I'm not the only one who had "issues" with the subject, although I doubt very many had to take it as many times as I did. I count 6 times including summer school.
LOL, good one! They usually hold up their thumb and two fingers.
way off topic!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1592623/posts?page=58#58
LOLOLOL!
Nope, my engineering friends and I do all kinds of interesting calculations over beers at my bar. They are engineers (pretty good at math) but I am the math guy, so quite often I am the one tasked with figuring out the equations for this or that. Just the other day I had to figure out the equations for a sequence of numbers, had to do with the proabilities of winning football pots. LOL, very complicated sequence took me three tries to get it right. At first I thought it was just a factorial, piece of cake, but next day they came back and told me I was wrong! Now I am pissed, "What exactly is the problem again"? I've figured out volumes of irregular fuel tanks for shimmper friends, how much mud to dump into a drill hole to keep it safe, all kinds of interesting things for the folks I know in my little town.
See not only is math fun and easy, it helps you make new friends.
Likely, he picked up 'rules of thumb' which were essentially the same thing. >>>>>>>>>>>
Mainly, he learned to understand a framing square! I heard him tell someone once about how he struggled with it until he understood it, it seems that others had tried to teach it to him unsuccessfully but he finally sat down all alone one day and puzzled it out on his own.
Understanding very basic mathematical concepts (WRT learning algebra) should be a given. Perhaps this is the problem with the students ... they don't know how or why 2 = 8/4.
I have a simple philosophy concerning math: work smart not hard. This reduces the probability for error. Of course, if the fundamental concepts are not understood, the students are going nowhere fast, until they can grasp some basics.
I employ this philosophy daily, as I am my children's algebra teacher. :-) If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then there is no use traveling in circles. I explain other valid methods for solving a problem once they realize that the concepts just aren't as difficult as initially portrayed in the book.
Nothing worse [for motivation] than a student feeling overwhelmed at the outset by all the official rules and steps. Mine simply know better (from experience) to assume that the problem is with them. Thus, they approach the subject with confidence rather than with a sense of dread. And if they are the ones who are a bit dense at times, it's no big deal. They just keep working at it until the light goes on. If my explanation A doesn't do the trick, there is always B, C, D, and so on.
At the start of the last school year, my son began Algebra I (Saxon). Immediately it was apparent that negative numbers were frying his brain. He was obviously frustrated. So, we stopped right there. I spent several days strictly working with him on subduing the evil forces of negative numbers. There was no way I was going to expect him to continue without mastering these basics. The strict focus solved the problem, and we moved on. He has become very strong in the subject, and this year he has moved easily through Algebra II. He clearly has a deep understanding of the concepts. I believe that the most important equation to solve is the one with the fear factor.
/RANT :-D
What is the absolute value of Algebra?
And, there's an easy answer. The value of algebra is the reciprocal of the value of ignorance.
We're talking basic algebra here, (Your Yugo gets 22.4 miles per gallon, how many gallons to get to Grandma's house 304 miles away?. Easy, n'est se pas?)
While I believe that no human should be content with ignorance, that's a personal choice issue.
What gets me is that we should let students know that we expect academic achievement, not lassitude. Writer Cohen's commiseration does much to undermine student failure.
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