Posted on 12/01/2012 2:31:36 PM PST by thecodont
I was a B student in Algebra, but everything in Geometry & Trigonometry just clicked for me. I found it fascinating from the get go.
Most jobs for employers only need the basic skills of basic math such as addition, multiplication, division and decimals.
In fact, there are very few entry level jobs for graduating high school students that require algebra. Name one if you can. I guarantee it will be the exception, not the rule.
I should add that I went on to work construction ,start a company and do takeoffs, estimates, etc and knowing algebra helped me immensely.
I could run things through my head on the job sight and give answers immediatly that other workers had no clue where to begin.
It seems as if algebra helped me frame everything else to where I could look at problems differently and solve it in more ways then one, if that makes sense.
Others have different brain patterns and skills. For example, I was a successful insurance salesman and entrepeneur. Now I am a writer, author, and writing teacher with skills in those areas.
I don't use algebra, but I can spot a bad choice of words a mile away. Example: It's a “job site” not a “job sight”
In my world, any report or bid you might present that made such a mistake would downgrade your competence because of illiteracy.
. We all have different talents. I simply wouldn't be any good in a technical job that requires left brain skills.
Your buddy was done with math after an eighth grade, slowed down, algebra class?
He sounds like a poster child for the American educational system!
Your buddy was done with math after an eighth grade, slowed down, algebra class?
He sounds like a poster child for the American educational system!
In my world anal obsessive people are to be avoided
He had to take one other math course to get enough credits but it was not algebra or higher.
Some of us managed to get by in life without the greatest education in the world or a college degree.
!
I had an awful time with Algebra. I finally got it once I saw the practical use for it. Things like electrical formulas (Ohm’s Law) and some basic financial calculations. Once I saw the purpose for it I didn’t find it that horrible. I’m not any math genius by any stretch but I at least ended up with a B avg and went on to calculus.
For the sake of the graduating students, they should be prepared for a bit more than an entry level job if they want to advance.
It used to be that high school graduates went on to very lucrative careers in trades and skilled labor, where not only algebra but trig are requirements.
The requirement here is that they be able to be productive members of society - and that’s a big more of a requirement than bagging groceries at the local supermarket.
For some types of education, the less the better!
Here’s a list of industries from the BLS. I see a whole lot of industries that high school graduates can enter without expertise in algebra.
Total Employment by Industry Sector
Sector Industry 2008 2009 2010
11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 1,175,975 1,149,145 1,154,071
21 Mining 713,734 641,737 651,918
22 Utilities 816,560 821,449 807,673
23 Construction 7,315,195 6,136,403 5,672,913
31-33 Manufacturing 13,425,573 11,854,096 11,532,213
42 Wholesale Trade 5,955,341 5,562,324 5,466,844
44-45 Retail Trade 15,374,115 14,611,408 14,549,251
48-49 Transportation and Warehousing 5,357,858 5,028,657 4,935,603
51 Information 3,139,585 2,956,723 2,848,734
52 Finance and Insurance 5,887,222 5,649,983 5,520,206
53 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 2,157,368 2,017,447 1,961,617
54 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 7,918,296 7,586,118 7,567,186
55 Management of Companies and Enterprises 1,895,417 1,855,139 1,854,778
56 Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 8,079,181 7,239,599 7,482,610
61 Education Services 12,103,006 12,171,846 12,144,279
62 Health Care and Social Assistance 17,433,674 17,764,982 18,077,213
71 Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 2,380,659 2,323,222 2,300,728
72 Accommodation and Food Services 11,491,913 11,158,761 11,183,469
81 Other Services (except Public Administration) 4,541,233 4,425,121 4,406,249
92 Public Administration 7,429,907 7,474,515 7,545,067
Most trades have apprentice programs where they learn by doing under a ‘master’ plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc.
Alfred North Whitehead said that most people only need to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and, curiously, statistics.
I had come to the same conclusion, except for the statistics part.
OK, then, let’s go whole hog.
Eliminate spelling and grammar. California has already done it. While we’re teaching kids to excel in innumeracy, we can pile on illiteracy. Checkout clerks don’t need to write or spell, right? Neither do bus drivers. So why make kids learn how to spell much less write a paragraph?
You have to be able to read and write in order to be educated or to educate yourself.
Along with basic mathematics, these language skills are the basic tools of an education which can enable you to make a good living.
Algebra, however, is not a basic tool and millions of folks make a damn good living without it.
I failed every math class in college twice before passing.
I made a B in Trig on the first try. The only thing I can figure why is that trig gives you a visual with the problem.
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