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What Does Homework Do?

What does homework do?


  • Total voters
    39
Trust me tradeswork is hard stuff i learned plenty from my dad, tilework,carpentry, eletrical, carpeting, stonework, bricklaying, painting, the whole bit, its a PITA.


I gotta admit, a couple of those (like painting and tile) are pretty much just mindless labor. :lol:
 
Remember that, and if you ever hear someone disparage the intelligence of carpenters and other blue-collar tradesmen, let them know that it's not all mindless labor. ;)

Not that anyone here has said that, but I've encountered that stereotype so often in my life that I know it's real.

No, it's tough stuff, at least to me.

Being severely deficient in one area gives me enough respect for those who can do it, and at the end of the day, be able to say "easy as pie".
 
Not really. The odds are good that if I don't know him, I know someone who does. That's pretty much how it is here in Chicago when it comes to the trades.

hes a retired member of i think its union 66. but it was the tile setters union. when i get my diploma hes gonna get me a job. he was a well known member. they liked him so much when he went on the disabled list they made a special position for him.
 
If I couldn't graduate without taking pre-calculus, I would never have gone to a university or had aspirations for graduate school.

How did you make it out of University without taking calculus? Why would pre-cal have prevented you from going to University or grad school? It's not hard, it's basic math. Maybe our University standards are slipping too. University specifically should be the most academically rigorous and challenging of all higher education institutions. I don't see how having to take pre-cal would do anything to change that or prevent someone from going to University.
 
How did you make it out of University without taking calculus? Why would pre-cal have prevented you from going to University or grad school? It's not hard, it's basic math. Maybe our University standards are slipping too. University specifically should be the most academically rigorous and challenging of all higher education institutions. I don't see how having to take pre-cal would do anything to change that or prevent someone from going to University.

calculus is a bunch of bs. no one uses that unless their a mathematician.
 
calculus is a bunch of bs. no one uses that unless their a mathematician.

I'm a physicist, I use calculus and more on a daily basis. Calc in fact can be very useful to everyone. If you know how to use it, it can make a lot of things easier and you can comprehend mathematical ideas better. Then when the mortgage broker is trying to rip you off, you can calculate quickly and figure out in just how many ways he wants to rip you off.
 
How did you make it out of University without taking calculus? Why would pre-cal have prevented you from going to University or grad school? It's not hard, it's basic math. Maybe our University standards are slipping too. University specifically should be the most academically rigorous and challenging of all higher education institutions. I don't see how having to take pre-cal would do anything to change that or prevent someone from going to University.

I am still a university student, mind you. I am a major in History, going into Secondary Education, with a minor in Special Education, and a minor in Political Science. Mathematics was not really high in requirement for any of those fields.

You overestimate the population's ability to do mathematics. Pre-calculus would be incredibly difficult for me, as was Algebra II.

I literally would not have made it out alive had I been required to follow a mathematically-based curriculum. There are many reasons why, but I referred to them in other threads and do not wish to revisit them here.
 
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Meh, alright. I think it's pretty important stuff and can be used more often than people are willing to give it credit for. Basic math I think should be known by pretty much everyone. History is important as well, at University level you should be taking at least a few history courses. I did, cause it was interesting and I really liked history; particularly America history.

And I doubt that you literally wouldn't have made it out alive if you had to take pre-cal. I mean, even if you had problems with the subject, I doubt that the problems would have resulted in your death.
 
Well, death in the prospect of living the good life, or the ordinary life. ;)
 
Meh, alright. I think it's pretty important stuff and can be used more often than people are willing to give it credit for. Basic math I think should be known by pretty much everyone. History is important as well, at University level you should be taking at least a few history courses. I did, cause it was interesting and I really liked history; particularly America history.

And I doubt that you literally wouldn't have made it out alive if you had to take pre-cal. I mean, even if you had problems with the subject, I doubt that the problems would have resulted in your death.

Screw that. Mandatory classes only exists to inflate the costs. I learned more about history on my own by reading books than I did in any history class.

If people want to avoid certain coursework, they should be allowed to. It's their choice, and their loss for not learning the material.
 
it got me in trouble 'cause i'd never do it

I see, and now learning is not that easy; old or bad habits are hard to break. During my teen years I was seldom a bear for doing the "work-at-home".
I retired as a laborer, not good.
 
I'm a physicist, I use calculus and more on a daily basis. Calc in fact can be very useful to everyone. If you know how to use it, it can make a lot of things easier and you can comprehend mathematical ideas better. Then when the mortgage broker is trying to rip you off, you can calculate quickly and figure out in just how many ways he wants to rip you off.

generally scientists and math people use it. for example, im going into the fine arts when im out of high school. ill never in my life use calculus.
 
Screw that. Mandatory classes only exists to inflate the costs. I learned more about history on my own by reading books than I did in any history class.

If people want to avoid certain coursework, they should be allowed to. It's their choice, and their loss for not learning the material.

exactly. when you are going to college to become an artist. why would you be taking a math class?(other than learning your shapes which i learned in kindergarten)
 
Screw that. Mandatory classes only exists to inflate the costs. I learned more about history on my own by reading books than I did in any history class.

If people want to avoid certain coursework, they should be allowed to. It's their choice, and their loss for not learning the material.

People are more than free to avoid coursework, but then they should forgo the receipt they get at the end of college which says that you've satisfied all the requirements of the degree.
 
generally scientists and math people use it. for example, im going into the fine arts when im out of high school. ill never in my life use calculus.

Well maybe if you wanted to calculate your mortgage and compounded interest rates to figure out what you'd actually be paying on your house you'd want that. But other than practical things which everyone has to do such as finance and contract...sure, totally useless.
 
exactly. when you are going to college to become an artist. why would you be taking a math class?(other than learning your shapes which i learned in kindergarten)

If you go to University, you should have to learn it. I you go to College, not so much. If you go to a Tech School or Jr. College not at all.
 
Meh, alright. I think it's pretty important stuff and can be used more often than people are willing to give it credit for. Basic math I think should be known by pretty much everyone. History is important as well, at University level you should be taking at least a few history courses. I did, cause it was interesting and I really liked history; particularly America history.
History is good to know if you are interested in politics, but it is never important unless you are a contestant on Jeopardy or being interviewed by Katie Couric.

Well maybe if you wanted to calculate your mortgage and compounded interest rates to figure out what you'd actually be paying on your house you'd want that. But other than practical things which everyone has to do such as finance and contract...sure, totally useless.
How many mortgages or contracts does the average person sign in their lifetime? One? Teach calculus to the realtors, or better yet use a mortgage calculator, and save yourself years of unnecessary math classes.
 
History is good to know if you are interested in politics, but it is never important unless you are a contestant on Jeopardy or being interviewed by Katie Couric.


How many mortgages or contracts does the average person sign in their lifetime? One? Teach calculus to the realtors, or better yet use a mortgage calculator, and save yourself years of unnecessary math classes.

sheer genius thats all i have to say.
 
P.S. I skipped steps and separated things out. The original equation would be 8/12 = X/21 (which is basic algebra). Then it becomes 21*(8/12) (which is multiplying fractions).

Since I know how to multiply fractions, I can take the 8 out momentarily and look at 21/12 = 1 and 9/12 = 1 and 3/4. Then I multiply that by 8 so I know I have 8 + 8*(3/4) = 8 + 6 = 14.

In my head, I figured this one.
12X = 8 * 21
But I never took calculus in high school and wish I had..
Its a confidence thing, I never had the necessary ton of confidence..
And confidence can be a fleeting, etheral thing.
As a cop out, I think the way calc was explained , the reason for it, was not so good.
Much like the Dems trying to explain health care reform to our people.
 
History is good to know if you are interested in politics, but it is never important unless you are a contestant on Jeopardy or being interviewed by Katie Couric.

I think there is weight to the knowledge. Knowing something rarely causes more harm than good. Less you're an Al-Queda operative captured by the CIA...and even then if you don't know anything you'd probably reap the same repercussions as if you did.

How many mortgages or contracts does the average person sign in their lifetime? One? Teach calculus to the realtors, or better yet use a mortgage calculator, and save yourself years of unnecessary math classes.

Not so much, sadly. Especially given the last round of crap we went through with banks and predatory lending. A little bit of knowledge goes a long way. An understanding of math and economics helps a lot when trying to figure out what it is that the government is trying to do or what we can reasonably accomplish with government.
 
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