Hellen ( 9 years ago )
It's true that very few people need to know the math that's taguht in schools, including Algebra, let alone Geometry, Analytic Geometry (which is what Algebra II consisted of in my day), or trigonometry.  This is true even for most kids who will go on to college.Statistics, even if it were predominantly qualitative, would be useful to teach.  Especially the fundamental statistical truth (which still eludes many people) that there is a difference between "some" and "all" and "most" and "none".  I.e., if I say that women tend not to have as much aptitude as men for math, I mean most women, not all women.  And the mention of a single counter-example - one women who is very adept at Math - does not change the truth of that statement.But why study Algebra?  How about in order to exercise their minds.      For many students in the mid-range, even if they'll never use it, the study of it may make them smarter, at least within the limits of their innate intelligence.

Rezthu ( 9 years ago )
Ian: It seems to me that these algebra stdarands are one more example of a general trend : people tend to think that other people are just like them, on the inside.Freud called it , more or less.And as difficult as it is for a moron to imagine what it might be like to be a genius, lately I've been wondering whether the opposite might be even more difficult - whether educated folks [IQ 120, 130, 140, etc] might have no idea at all what life is like for someone with an IQ of 80, or 70 [which would encompass literally tens of millions of these minorities].What would it be like to be unable to perform simply Algebra?What would it be like if you were so stupid that you were [more or less] incapable of being taught how to solve a pair of equations likex + 2y = 22x + y = 1During the immigration debate this past spring, I actually spent some time trying to imagine just that - what it would be like if your mind were trapped in a brain which couldn't perform the higher intellectual functions.I sure do hope that I'll never be forced to experience it, but I suppose we'll all succomb to dementia eventually.