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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm the OP and I am all for rethinking high school math education for people who are "not math people." For a lot of professionals, a solid understanding of basic statistics is probably a lot more important than what you learn in Algebra 2.

Having watched the promotional video about this new initiative (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz7XElC9jx8) it seems like they are overly dismissive of calculus and also don't seem to get the distinction between learning the basics of stats (something everyone should know) and really understanding the math behind stats, which requires linear algebra. Any college stats class from a math or applied math department would also require calculus (which of course underpins many sciences and economics). It is also not clear to me how people will take AP Physics without some knowledge of calculus (or at least being well set up to quickly absorb the basics).[/quote]
Perhaps it's because I really liked calculus, but I think it is more valuable than just allowing you to solve engineering problems.  The disciple of working through a calculus problem requires you to think and reason in a certain way.  There is an element of discipline and focus that carries over into other thinking and problem solving.

Liberal art majors always try to convince me that philosophy and other liberal arts classes can teach the same skills, but that hasn't been my experience.  There are many people who BS their way through most liberal arts classes, but you can't get away with that in calculus.

I don't think everyone needs calculus, but I do think it's beneficial for anyone shooting for a selective college.  Just like taking a language, it's a way of proving that you can tackle challenging content.  I'd be very sad if calculus stops being mainstay of education.  Stats and other applied math classes just don't have the same rigor.  [/quote]

This is absolutely true. It’s not just the direct use of the skill in something like engineering. Calculus (and other subjects like Geometry) teach a way of thinking and processing information. [/quote]

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