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CA Educator: Algebra Is a 'Civil Rights' Issue. Get Rid Of It.

Erod

Erod

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CA Educator: Algebra Is a 'Civil Rights' Issue. Get Rid Of It. | Daily Wire

Interviewed on National Public Radio, a chancellor of the California community college system argued that since it may be too difficult for students, algebra, the single most failed course in community colleges across the country,*should be eliminated*from their requirements.*
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Liberalism today. Wow.

If you can't pass 8th grade math, you aren't a college graduate regardless of your worthless "diploma".

Lol
 
Sounds like they need better math teachers.
 
Erod said:
CA Educator: Algebra Is a 'Civil Rights' Issue. Get Rid Of It. | Daily Wire
Liberalism today. Wow.
If you can't pass 8th grade math, you aren't a college graduate regardless of your worthless "diploma".
Lol
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The requirements for what exactly?

A community college degree in hospitality?


Say Goodbye To X+Y: Should Community Colleges Abolish Algebra?

Oakley is among a growing number of educators who view intermediate algebra as an obstacle to students obtaining their credentials — particularly in fields that require no higher level math skills.

What we're proposing is to take an honest look at what our requirements are and why we even have them. So, for example, we have a number of courses of study and majors that do not require algebra.

There's an argument to be made that much of what we ask students to learn prepares them to be just better human beings, allows them to have reasoning skills. But again, the question becomes: What data do we have that suggests algebra is that course? Are there other ways that we can introduce reasoning skills that more directly relate to what a student's experience in life is and really helps them in their program of study or career of choice?​


the actual thingis not as bad as the OP article's headline made it sound.
 
azgreg said:
Sounds like they need better math teachers.
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That can make all the difference. I sucked at algebra until I met the greatest algebra teacher ever in college. It was so much fun once it clicked.
The sooner you find that person, the easier it is later on.
 
Simon W. Moon said:
The requirements for what exactly?

A community college degree in hospitality?


Say Goodbye To X+Y: Should Community Colleges Abolish Algebra?

Oakley is among a growing number of educators who view intermediate algebra as an obstacle to students obtaining their credentials — particularly in fields that require no higher level math skills.

What we're proposing is to take an honest look at what our requirements are and why we even have them. So, for example, we have a number of courses of study and majors that do not require algebra.

There's an argument to be made that much of what we ask students to learn prepares them to be just better human beings, allows them to have reasoning skills. But again, the question becomes: What data do we have that suggests algebra is that course? Are there other ways that we can introduce reasoning skills that more directly relate to what a student's experience in life is and really helps them in their program of study or career of choice?​


the actual thingis not as bad as the OP article's headline made it sound.
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Not making algebra a requirement early on severely limits your career choices, imo.
 
Phys251 said:
Since you wanted to make a decidedly nonpartisan issue into one, I thought that it was conservatives who hated higher education and critical thinking. Have they changed their minds?
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The difference, of course, is that this chancellor actually said what he said, whereas conservatives "hating higher education and critical thinking" is just your fantasy.

"Critical thinking," indeed.
 
Harshaw said:
The difference, of course, is that this chancellor actually said what he said, whereas conservatives "hating higher education and critical thinking" is just your fantasy.

"Critical thinking," indeed.
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Wasn't my decision to make this issue partisan. You can thank the pathetic OP for that.
 
Phys251 said:
Wasn't my decision to make this issue partisan. You can thank the pathetic OP for that.
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But it was your decision to do so with an unsubstantiated smear.

That chancellor did say what he said, and is most likely a lefty. While it's unfair to paint all "liberals" with him, he at least actually said it. As opposed to your fantasy about conservatives.
 
Crovax said:
Algebra is basic fundamental math that you start learning in 5th grade and can be easily applied to anyone's skill set and experiences
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I've always considered algebra being taught as early as first grade. 1 + 1= _ technically that line is a variable being solved for using the order of operations. Most of the math you learn before taking algebra the course, is just the different operations that make up the order of operations. That's how my algebra teacher explained it, no one failed her class when they looked at that way. Maybe the secret to math is confidence.
 
Lovebug said:
Not making algebra a requirement early on severely limits your career choices, imo.
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Sure, early on.

But this is community college.
People go there to get specific job related degrees and accreditation [or to get another U's pre-reqs out of the way cheaply].
A lot of them are already working adults.

For example, why should we force someone who is after a degree in hospitality to learn college algebra [a little more complex than the intro stuff from 5th grade]?

Why shouldn't they be allowed to spend their education time learning about job related specifics?
 
Harshaw said:
But it was your decision to do so with an unsubstantiated smear.

That chancellor did say what he said, and is most likely a lefty. While it's unfair to paint all "liberals" with him, he at least actually said it. As opposed to your fantasy about conservatives.
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The OP was decidedly partisan, yet you choose to ignore this. When you're ready to put aside your partisan bull****, please let me know. I'll be waiting.
 
Tanngrisnir said:
Nah. That's just the opinion of one guy. It's not representative of 'liberalism today' no matter how much you need it to be.

If you can't think critically, algebra should be the least of your worries.
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It's not a liberal thing.
Many conservatives make similar suggestions when they discuss the issues with modern college educations.

It's not even the opinion of that one guy.

The opinion expressed is somewhat different than what is expressed the OP headline.
 
Crovax said:
Algebra is basic fundamental math that you start learning in 5th grade and can be easily applied to anyone's skill set and experiences
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College Algebra is different than that though.

It gets a little more in depth.
 
Simon W. Moon said:
It's not a liberal thing.
Many conservatives make similar suggestions when they discuss the issues with modern college educations.

It's not even the opinion of that one guy.

The opinion expressed is somewhat different than what is expressed the OP headline.
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I see opinion's such as Oakley's pop up from time to time, and I think they're silly. Learning algebra doesn't just teach you how to solve for x--it teaches you logical, sequential thinking that can be used in a variety of applications.

I believe that a major reason why too many students struggle with algebra is that we have this myth in America of the "math gene," that some people are just naturally good at math and the rest of us are not. This is not a problem in most of the rest of the world, where they believe that math is a skill to be acquired through repeated practice.

Simon W. Moon said:
College Algebra is different than that though.

It gets a little more in depth.
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A major goal of upper-level algebra is to serve as a bridge towards calculus. Not everyone is going to need a skill set that strong.
 
Phys251 said:
Since you wanted to make a decidedly nonpartisan issue into one, I thought that it was conservatives who hated higher education and critical thinking. Have they changed their minds?
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I know you desperately need to believe that, but there's a reason we run everything in the real world.
 
Hell in the 1960s I had in HS algebra one, algebra two, plane geometry, trig and I can remember being annoy that the school did not offer calculus so I needed to wait until college but for a book I took out of the library on the subject.

I can not remember any great problems my classmates had in dealing with algebra but plane geometry and the proofs we needed to developed was another matter.

In any case, those subjects was all part of the courses for the college track students.
 
Simon W. Moon said:
College Algebra is different than that though.

It gets a little more in depth.
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No it's not.

I do have a degree in mathematics, I don't know if that would make me an expert or taint my opinion because math has always been very easy for me.
 
Harshaw said:
The difference, of course, is that this chancellor actually said what he said, whereas conservatives "hating higher education and critical thinking" is just your fantasy.

"Critical thinking," indeed.
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And how did your 'critial thinking' link the dude to liberalism?
 
Harshaw said:
But it was your decision to do so with an unsubstantiated smear.

That chancellor did say what he said, and is most likely a lefty. While it's unfair to paint all "liberals" with him, he at least actually said it. As opposed to your fantasy about conservatives.
Click to expand...

Most likely? Talk about unsubstantiated smears...
 
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