“It’s 2019…get rid of Algebra 2 in high schools and replace it with Finance Fundamentals. Teach kids about careers (not just college), salaries, credit, budgeting, money management, taking out a loan, buying a house, filing their taxes.”
The above was a social media post I saw recently. Let me just start by saying: “True. Kids should learn ‘about careers…, salaries, credit, budgeting, money management, taking out a loan, buying a house, filing their taxes’.” In my humble opinion, this should be learned before high school! Algebra 2, however, in foundational—not the pinnacle of mathematics.
No great scientist, engineer…, plumber, or carpenter ever succeeded without Algebra. Mathematics is a language of logic. It is a gateway to discovery. “Solve for x” is not a phrase that is intended to break young people. It is a statement for life. If we cave to the misguided thought that people “don’t use Algebra” we will falter as a society.
I teach exercise physiology. In one unit, we do metabolic calculations—i.e., calculate oxygen consumption when performing exercise running or walking on a treadmill, using a leg or arm ergometer (“stationary bike”), and stepping. There are five equations (walking, running, leg ergometry, arm ergometry, and stepping) that I provide for the students. After converting body weight from pounds to kilograms (we gave up somewhere along the timeline on converting to the metric system in the US) and miles per hour to meters per minute, all the student has to do is plug the numbers into the equation and calculate. (Basic Algebra.) Many students struggle with this. When asked to do more “complicated math” like solve for the setting on the leg ergometer, given an oxygen consumption, more students struggle. Ask them to calculate how many calories are expended, they are nearly all overwhelmed.
These are bright kids. None of them is incapable of doing these problems. Nevertheless, they nearly all struggle. Why? Because, somewhere along the line, someone told them that “Math is hard.” or “You can’t do Math.” Pure nonsense. It is this same poor teaching that robs them of critical thinking skills and causes them to learn to the test.
A very big part of learning is the struggle. A wise friend once shared that “You never really know something until you struggle to learn it.” I agree. My students hate that I agree, but the learn.
Education should not be about making success easy for the students. Great educators present the struggle and help the student find his or her path through it.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!