Is algebra necessary for ALL?

[Anonymous]

Percentage of the US labor market that consists of STEM careers, current and projected, would be a good start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's just put it this way: If DCPS were to stop it's math curriculum at Algebra, they'd basically be driving the final nail in their coffin. Even the handful of successful schools in DC would rapidly fail because parents would realize all the more what an irrelevant dead end DCPS schools are to them and how much they will fail to meet their needs. More and more parents would pull their kids out of DCPS schools and instead send them to charters, privates or move out and go to suburban schools.

Educated parents know better. Educated parents know that higher math is needed in the professional world, that it's needed for graduate school admissions exams, and so on.

DCPS schools would become increasingly segregated, ultimately becoming 99% low-SES and AA, and all who attend DCPS schools would be condemned to a lousy and limited future that will come with low income, low quality of life, and plenty of heartbreak.

Not suggesting that DCPS should ever do that, just wondering if it makes sense to REQUIRE algebra for ALL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe this video is apropos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEU_5lVjRFQ&list=PLC065B8549CDD84DE

love it

[Anonymous]

STEM: Good Jobs Now and For the Future (US Dept of Commerce)

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers drive our nation’s innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas, new companies and new industries. However, U.S. businesses frequently voice concerns over the supply and availability of STEM workers. Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM jobs. STEM workers are also less likely to experience joblessness than their non-STEM counterparts. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future.

• In 2010, there were 7.6 million STEM workers in the United States, representing about 1 in 18 workers.

• STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17.0 percent from 2008 to 2018, compared to 9.8 percent growth for non-STEM occupations.

• STEM workers command higher wages, earning 26 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts.

• More than two-thirds of STEM workers have at least a college degree, compared to less than one-third of non-STEM workers.

• STEM degree holders enjoy higher earnings, regardless of whether they work in STEM or non-STEM occupations.

Read it here: http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/stemfinalyjuly14_1.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STEM: Good Jobs Now and For the Future (US Dept of Commerce)

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers drive our nation’s innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas, new companies and new industries. However, U.S. businesses frequently voice concerns over the supply and availability of STEM workers. Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM jobs. STEM workers are also less likely to experience joblessness than their non-STEM counterparts. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future.

• In 2010, there were 7.6 million STEM workers in the United States, representing about 1 in 18 workers.

• STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17.0 percent from 2008 to 2018, compared to 9.8 percent growth for non-STEM occupations.

• STEM workers command higher wages, earning 26 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts.

• More than two-thirds of STEM workers have at least a college degree, compared to less than one-third of non-STEM workers.

• STEM degree holders enjoy higher earnings, regardless of whether they work in STEM or non-STEM occupations.

Read it here: http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/stemfinalyjuly14_1.pdf

OK, so it's 5% of the workforce. What percentage of our students should we be preparing for that group of jobs?

[Anonymous]

Another take:

http://www.realclearpolicy.com/blog/2013/04/25/no_shortage_of_stem_graduates_495.html

[Anonymous]

and this

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/the-phd-bust-americas-awful-market-for-young-scientists-in-7-charts/273339/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: OK, so it's 5% of the workforce. What percentage of our students should we be preparing for that group of jobs?

It's not just percent of workforce -- a higher percentage of BETTER PAYING jobs are STEM jobs. (Before you ask for data, someone already posted a link to the BLS stats, back on page 1 or 2 of this thread.)

You're right, most kids won't go into STEM fields -- but if they don't take Algebra, you're guaranteeing they won't. Why shut the door to those jobs -- those better paying jobs -- before they're even out of high school?

Why NOT require Algebra? Where is the advantage in abolishing that requirement?

[Anonymous]

because one size fits few.
because there are many routes to success and happiness.
because I hate to see kids drop out of school completely due to unnecessary requirements.

[Anonymous]

I don't think requiring algebra forces anyone to pursue a STEM field when they'd be happier in the humanities. I DO think it's important to keep kids' options open as long as possible, and requiring Algebra does that.

Look -- in middle school, I had a hard time composing paragraphs, never mind an intelligible essay. But I was good at math, & the guidance counselor told my mom not to worry b/c I'd grow up & be an engineer who didn't have to write. In high school, I was a math geek, but I also had English and history teachers who helped me learn how to write. In college, I majored in English. Today I'm a copy-editor, and I joke that if copyediting didn't exist, I'd have to invent it, b/c it's a perfect fit for my skills/personality. If the adults in my life had let my teenage skills & interests determine my career path, I'd be miserable today.

I'm not saying no kid has ever dropped out of school b/c of algebra -- but I'm sure the same could be said of many other requirements. Do we just abolish requirements? No. We give kids the support they need to meet them, so they eventually can choose careers on the basis of what they -really want- to do, not on the basis of what they did or didn't study when they were 14.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:because one size fits few.
because there are many routes to success and happiness.
because I hate to see kids drop out of school completely due to unnecessary requirements.

data, please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think requiring algebra forces anyone to pursue a STEM field when they'd be happier in the humanities. I DO think it's important to keep kids' options open as long as possible, and requiring Algebra does that.

Look -- in middle school, I had a hard time composing paragraphs, never mind an intelligible essay. But I was good at math, & the guidance counselor told my mom not to worry b/c I'd grow up & be an engineer who didn't have to write. In high school, I was a math geek, but I also had English and history teachers who helped me learn how to write. In college, I majored in English. Today I'm a copy-editor, and I joke that if copyediting didn't exist, I'd have to invent it, b/c it's a perfect fit for my skills/personality. If the adults in my life had let my teenage skills & interests determine my career path, I'd be miserable today.

I'm not saying no kid has ever dropped out of school b/c of algebra -- but I'm sure the same could be said of many other requirements. Do we just abolish requirements? No. We give kids the support they need to meet them, so they eventually can choose careers on the basis of what they -really want- to do, not on the basis of what they did or didn't study when they were 14.

Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:because one size fits few.
because there are many routes to success and happiness.
because I hate to see kids drop out of school completely due to unnecessary requirements.

data, please

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dc-takes-top-honors-worst-graduation-rate-us

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:because one size fits few.
because there are many routes to success and happiness.
because I hate to see kids drop out of school completely due to unnecessary requirements.

data, please

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dc-takes-top-honors-worst-graduation-rate-us

Can you correlate these state graduation rates with whether or not Algebra is required?

[Anonymous]

The point is, if you were to drop Algebra II from DCPS schools, the number of DCPS students with an opportunity to have a STEM career would go from 5% to 0%. And likewise, it's also been pointed out that higher math is a requirement in grad school admissions exams. So you've also reduced the pool of DCPS grads to go on to grad school to 0%.