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posted by n1 on Saturday July 22 2017, @04:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the math-is-hard dept.

Algebra is one of the biggest hurdles to getting a high school or college degree — particularly for students of color and first-generation undergrads.

It is also the single most failed course in community colleges across the country. So if you're not a STEM major (science, technology, engineering, math), why even study algebra?

That's the argument Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the California community college system, made today in an interview with NPR's Robert Siegel.

At American community colleges, 60 percent of those enrolled are required to take at least one math course. Most — nearly 80 percent — never complete that requirement.

Oakley is among a growing number of educators who view intermediate algebra as an obstacle to students obtaining their credentials — particularly in fields that require no higher level math skills.

Their thinking has led to initiatives like Community College Pathways, which strays away from abstract algebra to engage students in real-world math applications.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Saturday July 22 2017, @07:05PM (3 children)

    by mhajicek (51) on Saturday July 22 2017, @07:05PM (#543042)

    Then why do I see so many that are done wrong?

    --
    The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:05PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:05PM (#543063)

    > Then why do I see so many that are done wrong?

    Lack of algebra(grin)? Or, more likely, giving the job to a contractor without involvement of a qualified civil engineer?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 22 2017, @08:27PM (#543069)

    You say "done wrong", but do you know what constraints they were designing to? It's not all about minimizing various derivatives -- sometimes there's constraints on total space occupied (eminent domain means you can take what you want, but you still have to pay something for it); sometimes particular areas (e.g. wetlands, or property owned by well-connected individuals) must be avoided. There's quite a few ramps I've driven on that I just can't explain, but there's enough other "weird" layouts that I can see the (or a) reason for, it makes me wary of assuming all the ones I can't figure are just down to ignorance on some civil engineer's part.

    (Also, get that "civil engineer" bit? Yeah, they have semester on semester of classes about dirt, but they're still a STEM field. Of course they took calculus.)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @01:50AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @01:50AM (#543214)

    If there are that many trains derailing on a section of track or sliding out of control, then they should fix the track.

    Otherwise, it's probably not wrong, it's probably just not what you envision it should look like.