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Few people use poetry, Greek philosophy, or history in their jobs either. We teach students mathematics in order to acquaint them with the civilization of which
by leephillips 4y ago
Few people use poetry, Greek philosophy, or history in their jobs either. We teach students mathematics in order to acquaint them with the civilization of which they are a part. Good teachers try to get them to appreciate the beauty and grandness of this bedrock of human culture as part of the process of transforming them into people.
Who cares if they never “use” calculus in their dreary jobs. The don’t “use” Shakespeare either.
And who are these “engineers” who don’t use math, but just plug numbers into Excel? I am afraid of China. I’ve met many of their engineers and scientists, and they sure as hell know math.
- barry-cotter 4y ago> And who are these “engineers” who don’t use math, but just plug numbers into Excel? I am afraid of China. I’ve met many of their engineers and scientists, and they sure as hell know math. Chinese engineering education is far inferior to Western according to every person I’ve ever met here who hired fresh graduates. I live in China.
- taeric 4y agoI mean, you aren't wrong on the lead in. But, the person you are talking to agrees. The number one position that most schools prepare students for, at face value, is to be a teacher at a school. The author makes a fairly compelling case against the way education is directed at kids today. And a lot of it is hinged on just how poorly adults show that they have learned in school. This includes in the area of critical thinking, where college students don't perform that much better than you would expect from non college level students.