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Joseph Perone

Why Do I Have to Take Algebra? - 1 views

www.purplemath.com/...why_math.htm

algebra careers WhyDoWeNeedToKnowThis teaching tools

shared by Joseph Perone on 07 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • "I don't need algebra, because I'm not going to college": There was a time not so long ago when children in middle schools were assigned to "tracks" according to what "everybody knew" each child would "need". (This tracking was why middle schools were invented in the first place.) Educational "experts" presumed to "know" what the various children "needed", based on culturally-based (but unjustified) presumptions. The educators then locked children into "appropriate" tracks, thereby locking many children out of college before they'd even begun high schoo
  • Modern educationist philosophy in America seems to say that education has to be "fun" and "entertaining" to be justifiable. Today's students often absorb the ethic that, unless a thing is easy, they shouldn't have to bother. But most worthwhile things in life are going to require some effort. If you want that great job, that interesting career, that open-ended future, you're almost certainly going to need some mathematical skills. And algebra is the basis, the foundation, the tool-box, for those skills.
  • "I'm only taking this class because the university makes me!": Let's be brutally honest here. The university didn't put a gun to your head and make you enroll. You decided you wanted their degree. You wanted their piece of paper. Why? Probably so you could (eventually) get a better job. In order to get that job, you need at least some subset of the skills which are taught in algebra. You might be right that you'll never factor another quadratic in your entire life. But you want the university's piece of paper, so you're going to have to jump through the hoops required to get it. The algebra class is one of those hoops. If you don't want to jump through the hoop, that's fine; but you won't get the piece of paper. It's your choice
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • "I can't drop out!", you reply, "I can't get that job unless I have a college degree." Ah. So, to get the job you want, you need to demonstrate proficiency in basic job skills. To demonstrate that proficiency, you need a degree. To get the degree, you need algebra. In other words, you do need this stuff for your job
  • "Will algebra even be 'relevant' in the future?": While jobs and their specific skill-sets may change over time, mathematics won't. Twenty years from now, two plus two will still be four, and quadratics will still be either factorable or prime. Whatever job you get will provide the job-specific training you need, but to get that job in the first place, you're going to need some background knowledge and skills. And to be able to keep up with progress, to keep on top of new skill-sets, to move up the ladder, to jump across into new and better career fields, you will need the flexibility of a broad foundation. That foundation includes mathematics
  • The lessons and patterns of mathematics are important, too. If all you take from algebra is a comfort with variables and formulas, an ability to interpret graphs and to think logically, and a willingness to use abstraction when you try to solve problems, then you have gained some incredibly useful life skills, skills that will open doors, give you options, and allow you to make your own informed choices
  • The specific algorithms you might study are not as important as the general patterns, techniques, and lessons that you can learn. Don't short-change your future by opting out now
  • Joseph Perone on 07 Mar 12
     
    Great answer to the question "Why do I need to know Algebra???"
Lenore Howard

Critical Thinking Puzzles - 0 views

puzzles4you.blogspot.com

critical thinking High schools Mathematics interpretation multiple perspectives interactive

shared by Lenore Howard on 02 May 11 - Cached
  • Lenore Howard on 02 May 11
     
    This website contains posts from man people that engage the learner with multiple perspectives. Some examples are math and poetry and gets the reader interested by looking upon the thoughts of other learners and responding to their contributions. I think teachers could keep this site bookmarked and keep refering back to it, and when something insprires them they can relay it back to their students!
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