Why Gloria doesn't need to learn algebra

[phantom power]

Yet another spirit-crushing entry for the "new American know-nothing-ism" files...

Richard Cohen, advocate for ignorance

Here is a serious problem:

Here's the thing, Gabriela: You will never need to know algebra. I have never once used it and never once even rued that I could not use it. You will never need to know—never mind want to know—how many boys it will take to mow a lawn if one of them quits halfway and two more show up later—or something like that. Most of math can now be done by a computer or a calculator. On the other hand, no computer can write a column or even a thank-you note—or reason even a little bit. If, say, the school asked you for another year of English or, God forbid, history, so that you actually had to know something about your world, I would be on its side. But algebra? Please.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/02/15/BL2006021501989.html

That's Richard Cohen, who is supposedly the 'liberal' columnist for the Washington Post, giving advice to a young girl.

It's outrageous.

Because Richard Cohen is ignorant of elementary mathematics, he can smugly tell a young lady to throw away any chance being a scientist, a technician, a teacher, an accountant; any possibility of contributing to science and technology, of even being able to grasp what she's doing beyond pushing buttons. It's Richard Cohen condescendingly telling someone, "You're as stupid as I am; give up." And everything he said is completely wrong.

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/02/richard_cohen_advocate_for_ign.php

[ananda]

1. Assign her detention and..

.. have her write a two-page essay on ways
math can be used outside algebra class.

hehheh

[badgerpup]

2. I wonder...

...if he would give the same advice to Miguel, or Tyler, or Jamal...

[phantom power]

3. I would guess "yes," since he seems so proud of his own ignorance

[Orsino]

17. The Future of America

Now go cut education funding again.

[JuniorPlankton]

4. I think so

It's not about gender, it's about stupidity. After all, he doesn't know any math and thinks it's OK.
(He may have some issues in that area too, but they are not apparent in this piece.)

:eyes:

[madaboutharry]

5. He is really an ass for saying that.

The number of doors that close on those who are unable to demonstrate basic algebra skills are too many to count.

[enlightenment]

15. Hate to throw the cold water on this debate

but some of us do manage well without algebra. I teach college history, which isn't exactly cat piss -- and I achieved all my degrees without one algebra class. Not in primary school, not in secondary school, and not in college.

I am perfectly able to think critically without a clue (or frankly, any interest in knowing) what "x" might stand for in an algebraic formula. Critical thinking is taught in the liberal arts as well as the maths and sciences.

I don't really like the tenor of that essay, as there does seem to be a gender bias built into it, but I will defend the premise that the ability to read, write well, and have an understanding of history is as important as math and science.

[Bill McBlueState]

19. but that's not exactly the point

It's not whether one can survive without algebra. Obviously people do, including yourself.

The point is that to have any kind of career in science or engineering, you need to know not just simple algebra, but higher forms of math as well. If we knew a priori that Gabriela was going to have a successful career as a history teacher, we might not bother her with an algebra requirement. But to let students avoid math in high school is to drastically narrow their range of career options. As uncertain as the job market is, high school students need to be trained broadly.

[phantom power]

20. Lots of people "get along just fine" without knowing any history too.

But you and I both know that a society where people don't know history isn't a healthy one. Likewise, a society where people are math-illiterate isn't healthy either.

[enlightenment]

23. No argument with either you or Bill McBluestate,

My comment was "as important" -- I do not believe that math is unimportant. However, the tone of this debate always becomes one of "everyone needs to know math and science, the rest is fluff" until someone challenges the way the debate is framed.

Then it switches to the "no one is saying that those other things aren't important as well," which is a more rational approach.

In retrospect, I probably could have stood the algebra; that I didn't take it had more to do with being a military brat and moving schools several times (plus, I was a victim of "new math") than active avoidance. I was simply pointing out that it is possible to survive without knowing what "x" means, or how to calculate Pi to 900 places.

Kids should receive a comprehensive education, not the cursory fly-over that it has become. They should be challenged and motivated, and the bar should be raised, not lowered. Yes, they need math and science -- and grammar and literature and history and art and music and sport. They should learn foreign languages and be exposed - before they graduate high school - to the social sciences.

They are going to school for 12 years -- and they hit my classroom with something that more closely resembles an 8th grade education.

I get annoyed with the constant chorus that proclaims "if they know math and science they'll succeed." Maybe so -- if they know how to read.

We swing like pendulums from one extreme to the next. The best approach is somewhere in the middle, but we never stop there long enough to see how it would work.

Sorry for the rant . . . obviously past my bedtime.

[phantom power]

24. Didn't that used to be called a "liberal education?"

Where you learn a solid foundation in a variety of important studies? It was already on it's way out by the time I was in college. I attended a technical college, and anybody not focused on the shortest straight-line distance to their future paycheck was viewed as a bit eccentric.

[enlightenment]

25. Yep -- I believe that was it.

Perhaps because I am an historian, I pine for the days when we cared enough about our children and our future to realize the importance of learning all manner of things -- not just those that offer the potential for the greatest economic reward.

Kids will "grow where they are planted" as the saying goes. I wish we would plant them in the oh-so fertile soil of knowledge.

[NNadir]

26. Personally I would be appalled if my children missed any subject.

History and math and science are not either/or.

A well rounded person should be aware of both, and certainly good primary, secondary, and colleges assure a minimal level, which should, must in my opinion, include basic concepts in algebra.

I'm sure that you are bright enough, but in my opinion, a knowledge of simple mathematics is essential to good citizenship. We live in a technocracy. Innumeracy is an important issue with important cultural and human consequences. I see it every day, and it is a serious, even deadly matter.

[enlightenment]

31. I'm sure I'm "bright enough" -- I won't win any math

awards, but I do have a thorough understanding of simple mathematics -- just not algebra, which was what was under discussion.

I chose to pursue history as a second (third?) career; prior to that I spent a decade or so as a computer programmer and systems analyst -- with the requisite training in same. Before that I was a load-master in the AF. Pretty good at both, and I still didn't need algebra!

I do understand your concerns, and I absolutely agree that a well-rounded education is the best answer. I suspect that I would disagree with your correlation of mathematics to good citizenship, as it implies a rather narrow approach to the definition of what makes a "good" citizen. However, you'd have to expand on that one, since there's not enough there for me to consider.

As to a technocracy: to understand how to use technology is entirely different than knowing how to create technology, and I will argue that the vast majority of people in this country (indeed, the world) qualify only as "users" not "creators" -- which means that they are hardly a step above the "can't program the VCR" level. I think you are suggesting the same thing ("Innumeracy is an important issue with important cultural and human consequences.")

However, I sense that you may believe that everyone should have the ability to "create" technology (I'm using the user/creator terms broadly here, please don't nit-pick) -- or at least have the technological skills to do so if need be.

My question to that (if that is what you mean) is, why? Why should everyone be a mathematician (and remember, we're talking algebra and up maths) - or more broadly, possess technological skills beyond simple use? Should everyone be an artist or writer or musician? It is generally considered sufficient to have an appreciation of those skills and a bonus if one possesses the "talent" to pursue them beyond that point.

on edit: mixing tenses.

[Dora]

6. What a dumbass.

I have a freaking useless MFA in writing, and even I have had to use algebra for at-home problem-solving occasionally.

It's good to know how to find out what "x" is.

[sam sarrha]

7. it isnt Algebra, but the region of the brain that learning Algebra develops

that will enrich and expand her quality of life..

they want to produce robots with no ability to reason or to even think rationally.. it is easier than having to steal every election.. one at a time..

[mainegreen]

8. You will never need algebra...

because you never learned it, and now are not skilled enough to get a job that requires it.

Always finish the sentence!

[jilln]

9. The really stupid thing is...

all the calculators and computers in the world aren't going to help you if you don't know how to set the equation up.

[htuttle]

11. True, you cannot get a computer to do algebra...

...unless you understand algebra.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Missing the point on why algebra is necessary.

It didn't occur to me while in the middle of finding the value of "x" in class 30+ years ago, but I know now that in the big picture, algebra is much more than math.

Algebra is about problem-solving, analysis of a problem, taking it apart and rebuilding the facts, and finding the solution independently. You only use numbers as the device for the discipline. In any given problem, in a Buddhist way, the answer is in the question. You have to understand the problem and more importantly, you have to understand what exactly you need to provide for an answer.

If you understand the problem and contours of the answer, then it's a matter of knowing a number of instructions, and in what order they belong to discover the missing information. It's deductive logic and argument.

With the appropriate presentation, anyone can be a master at algebra. And you DO use it almost every day without realizing it. You may not have problems asking you to determine how minutes Train A pulls into Chicago before Train B, or at what point of their respective journeys they'll pass each other, but you are not given all necessary information in a normal day and you have to figure out the correct answer.

Algebra may be the most important class after literature and writing. It teaches you to THINK.

[medeak]

12. He has multiple scerlosis married to Meredith Vieira

you would think he would be hoping for more scientists to find a cure!

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. The reasoning developed in algebra is vital for finance

You can give up ever hoping to get a job helping run a business if you can't work out problems involving relations and unknowns. You'll be at the mercy at the marketing of a loan company if you can't understand interest. If you ever want a job more demanding, and rewarding, than typing numbers into a spreadsheet that someone else set up, you'll need those skills.

[OneBlueSky]

14. you don't study math just to learn math . . . it also develops . . .

critical thinking and analysis skills . . . which this guy is obviously lacking . . .

[Massacure]

16. Excuse me while I go jump off a cliff

:nopity:

[Nikia]

18. It sounds like that school district has serious problems

If that many students are failing algebra. Perhaps, math education in the earlier grades needs to be improved and/or they need to have a slower moving algebra class with fewer students for the mathematically challenged. It sounds like they have a block program at that school district where students take semester classes, covering the material twice as fast, which probably isn't good for students who might have problems.
Aside from that, adults who have a good grasp of algebra and algebra type problem solving find advantages at most jobs. Even employees at the food processing plant I work for, who are not required to have any experience or education aside from speaking English and being marginally literate, find advantages in algebra problem solving.

[eppur_se_muova]

21. And whatever answer the calculator/computer gives you is correct?

Hardly. I have seen enough of this over the last couple of decades I'd really like to clothesline someone for giving this kind of stupid advice. If you don't know how to set up the problem the calculator is no help -- GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT. This is actually MORE obvious in math than in anything else -- it's harder to deny that your answer doesn't match the correct answer.

Basically he's just saying that if it's hard, give up without trying. And then prepare for a life of un/underemployment.


"...so that you actually had to know something about your world, I would be on its side."

Algebra is an almost indispensable tool for CREATING your world. If you want to spend the rest of your life as a spectator, not a participant, of human progress, follow Cohen's advice.

[depakid]

22. Richard Cohen isn't liberal- & he's none too bright, either

Since he doen't understand basic algebra, he obviously can't understand elementary statistics- or most anything else requiring a modicum of higher reasoning. Perhaps that's why he's such a Republican shill.

In addition, the Post is not a credible source for science articles. I've seen no less than three this past year that contained outright false statements of fact, and in at least one instance- from "unattributed" sources!

I brought one of those articles to an epidemiology class last year, and the class (and the prof) quite literally laughed at it.

Seems the Post's reporters can't write anything (even a science article) without slanting their copy.

The fact that its editors even let him publish this is testimony to just how far they've sunk since Katherine Graham left.

[0rganism]

27. The problem is not the requirement of algebra, but failing it 6 times

There is a flaw in any educational system that can allow a student to fail a required class 6 times. That's broken. First failure? OK, try again, anyone can fail something on the first try, even something basic. Second time? Bring out the tutors and involve the parents, because something didn't sink in. Third time? Somethin' ain't right, cos there shouldn't be a third time, so set up a 1-on-1 tutoring/study hall over the summer, and have her take the tests over again until she passes.

It should be the same way in any subject.

[eppur_se_muova]

28. OMG! Book plug! "In Code" by (16 yr old) Sarah Flannery!

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0761123849.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

{WARNING: READING THIS BOOK MAY RESULT IN A COMPELLING URGE TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN EDUCATED IN IRELAND}

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
"At 16, Flannery made worldwide headlines as Ireland's 1999 Young Scientist of the Year for her discovery and presentation of the Cayley-Purser algorithm, an innovative encryption system roughly 22 times faster than the worldwide standard RSA algorithm. She declines the "genius" label, and a method for cracking her algorithm has since been discovered, but this only makes the book more interesting and unpredictable. It's more about the journey's adventure than the destination and less about Sarah's specialness than her spirit. The mix is part memoir, part puzzle book and part mathematical exploration, with scattered bits of mathematical lore. (The heaviest math is concentrated into two chapters and the appendices, leaving the remainder easy going for the fainthearted.) The puzzle-solving approach to math cultivated by her father (and coauthor) encourages exploration, an adventurous attitude, attention to concepts more than calculations and sheer enjoyment of taking on a challenge. It's also more egalitarian than proof-based approaches, giving newcomers a more equal footing with old pros, emphasizing the process of discovery and making connections, which is more fundamental than finished proofs. All this is wonderfully illustrated by Flannery's own story of her rapidly developing interest and proficiency in cryptography, as well as by the puzzles she uses to get readers thinking and introduce some basic concepts. Other threads, running from brief descriptions of her grandparents to her father's teaching methods and her relationship to family in the face of a media frenzy, give her story added depth, warmth and humor. 8 pages of b&w photos. (June)Forecast: Workman is hoping to, and should, attract budding young mathematicians with a first printing of 35,000, a $65,000 marketing budget and an eight-city author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc."

[Nevernose]

29. On edit: I take it all back

The blog responses are faascinating.

[Avalux]

30. Sheesh. He needs to look into why she failed so many times -

sounds like a failure of the school system to teach Gabriela the basics. Algebra is like that - if the foundations aren't built, forget the rest of it. Maybe he's right and Gabriela won't ever need Algebra; maybe she has no interest in being a scientist or an engineer. But maybe if she had been taught properly and given encouragement, she'd have loved it and embraced it. Who knows where it could have taken her.

Aside from that, it's more about thinking than anything else. People are so damn dependent on calculators, computers, etc., they've lost the ability to use their brains. Shame on you Richard for supporting this dependency.

[sakabatou]

32. ASSHAT!

[Dover]

33. If algebra is considered necessary, then why not music?...n/t

[htuttle]

34. Well, if I had my way, it would be

As would a semester of basic drawing, a semester of introductory symbolic logic, a semester of basic carpentry/woodworking, and a semester of basic electronics. Gotta get both sides of the brain working, plus it's good to know the basic skills that got our species where it is today. I'd call it 'Dark Ages Insurance'.

That would all be in addition to the normal required courses.

[Orrex]

35. A fine question!

If you're suggesting that the teaching of music might be necessary for its own sake, the same argument could be made for literally any skill that one can name. Why not basket weaving? Why not masonry? Anecdotal evidence shows a notable correlation between math-aptitude and music-aptitude, so perhaps there's something to be said for teaching music as a basic skill, too. I still see a few possible snags, however:

The correlation between math- and music- aptitude does not in itself indicate that one leads to the other, or that one is even a reliable indicator of the other. Additionally, whereas the teaching of math has shown some benefit toward latter applications of logic, the teaching of music has not yet been shown to have this effect. It may well do so, but this is not yet supported by data.

Math directly underpins more logical processes in today's world than does music. For example, many basic office-based computer applications require at least a basic familiarity with boolean logic, but few office programs require facility in music. Again, this isn't an absolute stricture, but it reflects the current environment.

I've never heard of an absolute scale by which a piece of music can be judged correct or incorrect. A mathematical proof, in contrast, can be assessed in this way. Therefore, the skills necessary for mathematical methodology may have more direct application to "real-world" skills than do the skills of musical composition.

I love your question in any case! My musical ability extends only far enough to discern, with about 50% accuracy, whether or not the radio is on. However, I still think it's a worthy subject of study for its own sake, regardless of whether it has a workplace payoff. But I'm not convinced that musical training is "necessary" in the way that mathematical training is in the current world.