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I cirlced around this thread..
yes, I do know definition of algebra.
except what i learned as algebra in school and what was exampled here as one, makes huge difference in my educational system I came from. Examples here were just basic calculus, arithmetic, with maybe some ratio and proportion. Algebra I had to do - and hated it - was forgotten and waste of time right after graduation. So was trigonometry, stereometry and all other advanced subjects I never implemented later in my life, and I grew way before puters and cell phones, so we HAD to use our school knowledge.
I still do basic math in my head.
My thing is - school should give solid basic education. Matter of fact, with solid education in hand skill, so you don't call "professional" every time you have to use toilet plunger or swap light bulb or change oil in your car. Or, how to balance your budget, better off - that there even is budget, not spend as you wish.
School should then give good understanding of more advanced subjects - to be familiar with them and their practical application. Along with where and how one that wants to pursue that field can enhance his aptitude in it. How many of your class mates became mathematicians or physicists later down the road? Zero of mine. But, pretty much starting grade 9 of our high schools, we dragged ourselves through subjects we had no practical use for in real lives. And, every time we went to a university, we had 1st year as refresher anyway, doubling that school program.
So what's the point?
Better effort should be in What is it that you want to be? subject and, as student determines that -or, more likely, his parents do - be guided towards specific subjects that WILL be helpful, not just ballast to dispose of with happiness.
There are numerous high school subjects that have limited utility in the real world. History is one. Some students will never "get it." Geometry is another. Why expose teenagers to Aristotelian logic when it just upsets people? Why require Physical Education when all the kids will do is click a mouse? It's an uphill battle.
We should go back to the Jeffersonian vision of public education. Primary school is all most people can handle. Jefferson envisioned about 1/3 of students being smart enough to benefit from secondary education, and about 1/3 of those going on to higher education. If only 10% of the population ever made it to college, funding higher education would not be the massive drain on public finances that it is today.
Meanwhile, the 2/3 of the students who never make it past primary school will never be afflicted with Algebra.
Algebra education fails when schools don't make clear from the beginning that equations are not synonymous with input and output, comprised solely of arithmetic yields to the right of an equal sign.
Being able to handle abstract concepts, like substituting a letter in the general sense for a specific number, is one of the basic characteristics of an educated person.
Completion of secondary education should imply that one is capable of more than simply pushing buttons in order like a trained seal.
I can't say I agree at all.
I guess at one point I could have called myself a well educated person. In high school, after MUCH gnashing of the teeth, crying and groaning through hours of trying to get the concept, I finally "got" it.
Now, I guess you would call me just a plain old uneducated bum at 62 years old. I wouldn't have a CLUE how to solve a math question involving Algebra now and I don't care. Makes NO matter in my life.
Today, with the age of decent calculators, NO ONE needs to learn Algebra unless they need to use it in their field of work where they don't have access to a calculator (which is pretty much nowhere)
I guess at one point I could have called myself a well educated person. In high school, after MUCH gnashing of the teeth, crying and groaning through hours of trying to get the concept, I finally "got" it.
Now, I guess you would call me just a plain old uneducated bum at 62 years old. I wouldn't have a CLUE how to solve a math question involving Algebra now and I don't care. Makes NO matter in my life.
Today, with the age of decent calculators, NO ONE needs to learn Algebra unless they need to use it in their field of work where they don't have access to a calculator (which is pretty much nowhere)
You need to know what numbers to put in the calculator and what function to perform with them.
You need to know what numbers to put in the calculator and what function to perform with them.
Right! Calculators can do the basic functions for you, but they don't tell you WHICH numbers to multiply or divide and they don't tell you how to set up the problem into a form or equation that is usable.
What a lot of people don't understand is that equations are statements of relationships between the various data that you have. The left side of the equation must be equal to the right side. If one side is smaller (or larger) than the other side, then you need to add (or subtract) something from one side to make them equal. If you can state some factual relationships in the form of an equation, then you solve an equation with one unknown quantity in it (often referred to as X). It's all about making a correct statement in the form of an equation with one unknown quantity or dimension. Then just use the basic rules of solving equations to find out the unknown quantity.
Today, with the age of decent calculators, NO ONE needs to learn Algebra unless they need to use it in their field of work where they don't have access to a calculator (which is pretty much nowhere)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katarina Witt
You need to know what numbers to put in the calculator and what function to perform with them.
1. Write down your problem on paper.
2. Turn on the calculator.
3. Tight calculator and paper together with a rubber band.
4. Pray.
Many jobs require a high school diploma, even if abstract algebra or analyzing complex literature is not part of the job. Yet abstract algebra and advanced mathematics is often a requirement for a diploma. Some students will never understand it no matter what, even with intensive tutoring. I do think all students should learn statistical algebra, like mortgages, finance, budgeting, percentages, loans, compounding interest, graphs, fractions, data plots, etc. Abstract algebra should be optional. I am referring to solving equations like 2(x2-1)+3x(x+ 4) or finding the function or the value of X.
Talk about being off-base.
Automation (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are the Future.
It is coming whether you like it or not. It will not be an avalanche. It's implementation will be very slow over the course of several decades to become widespread and several decades more to be at 90% or better.
AI requires intensive human interface, while ML does not.
You can dumb it down to AI helps you do your job better, while ML does your job for you.
Blue Collar workers are not at risk to AI or ML, but White Collar workers are, and the Future lies in creating, developing, programming and servicing both AI and ML and that requires abstract algebra.
As both work and society become more complex, abstract algebra becomes more relevant, not less relevant.
If you cannot teach abstract algebra, then you're doing it wrong.
Yes, a small percentage of people will never get abstract algebra, just like a small percentage of people will never grasp music theory, or color theory in art, or pluming or pipe-fitting or brain surgery, but many people will.
You don't teach to the dumbest person in class, you teach to the smartest people.
1. Write down your problem on paper.
2. Turn on the calculator.
3. Tight calculator and paper together with a rubber band.
4. Pray.
Answer will show up on the display.
Nah, type it on CD in this Education forum, maybe even on this thread, and someone who knows how to do it will give me the answer
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