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Playing the contrarian, I'm ambivalent about 8th grade algebra. I tend to consider "school math" to be a distinct branch of math unto itself. Nobody knows why w

Playing the contrarian, I'm ambivalent about 8th grade algebra. I tend to consider "school math" to be a distinct branch of math unto itself. Nobody knows why we teach it, except that it's a sorting hat for certain college majors. The purpose of each class is to prepare you for the next class. Most of the people I know who have STEM degrees don't use their college math. The math that they need is programmed into their CAD terminals. The ones who still use math in their jobs, somehow got interested in math, in spite of school math. Turning math into a competition sucked the soul out of it. Both of my kids got 8th grade math, and top ACT/SAT scores. My daughter skipped pre-calculus with no ill effect. Both are interested in math, but have no interest in taking more math classes. I breezed through school math, through college and grad school. Whoop-de-doo. Two things made math come alive for me: Proofs, and computers. But proofs are nearly gone from the school math curriculum, and the schools still haven't embraced computers. I'd actually like to see a refactoring of school math, loosely into 4 disciplines, that are introduced in a cycle, perhaps even starting in 1st grade: 1. Arithmetic -- manual symbol manipulation, up to and including calculus. 2. Computation -- use of computers to explore and solve math problems. 3. Working with data -- self explanatory. 4. Theory -- things like sets, proofs, etc. I believe this would actually be more representative of how people actually use math in their lives. Many people will use computation and data, even if they struggle through arithmetic and develop no interest in theory. On the other hand, full exposure to all of the disciplines would adequately prepare someone for academic math study. I don't believe in banning anything. Some kids need to be allowed to get "ahead" so they don't get bored and lose interest, or simply because solving those school math problems can be a fun escape -- as it was for me -- from an otherwise stressful adolescence.

everforward 4y ago
I like the approach, but I wouldn't say it's "more representative of how people actually use math in their lives". I work in STEM and don't think I've every needed the "Theory" category. Any kind of computation beyond a calculator is beyond what most people use, and involves half a Computer Science degree. Working with data is nice and probably somewhat useful to white collar people, but most of them are going to use a half dozen Excel commands to get there. Most people don't really have a use for learning R or anything like that. Arithmetic is basically the only thing most people are going to use, and even calculus is beyond what most people actually use. Single variable algebra is about the extent of what's useful to the vast majority of people. I'm doubtful any extension of math classes is going to go well. People forget the things they don't use, and the swaths of adults that only remember simple arithmetic and basic algebra are telling a story that the rest isn't useful.

everforward 4y ago

I like the approach, but I wouldn't say it's "more representative of how people actually use math in their lives". I work in STEM and don't think I've every needed the "Theory" category. Any kind of computation beyond a calculator is beyond what most people use, and involves half a Computer Science degree. Working with data is nice and probably somewhat useful to white collar people, but most of them are going to use a half dozen Excel commands to get there. Most people don't really have a use for learning R or anything like that. Arithmetic is basically the only thing most people are going to use, and even calculus is beyond what most people actually use. Single variable algebra is about the extent of what's useful to the vast majority of people. I'm doubtful any extension of math classes is going to go well. People forget the things they don't use, and the swaths of adults that only remember simple arithmetic and basic algebra are telling a story that the rest isn't useful.