All of this sounds like a great step forward for Public Schools. To the outside observer, 4 years of Math, Science, English and History seem to be reasonable expectations. They certainly should be required for anyone planning to attend, and be successful in, college. But do all students who attend Public High Schools plan to go to college? What about the students who are in High School to get a High School diploma and then plan to learn a trade? Honestly .... do they really need Physics? Do they really need Algebra II? If YOU had to take and pass Pre-Calculus in order to graduate from High School, would you have been able to do it?
As I stated in my previous Blog, approximately half of all Americans have a below average IQ. I suppose it is possible that Texas High schools do not follow this pattern, but I find it highly unlikely. Do we honestly believe that EVERYONE needs to be able to do Pre-Calculus?? Do we honestly believe that EVERYONE needs to be able to do Physics??
Do I sound elitist?
Okay ... maybe I do sound elitist. But this worries me greatly on many fronts. By expecting everyone to be able to pass a solid Pre-Calculus class, one of two things has to happen. Either a large number of students will fail and have to retake the class, possibly more than once, thus extending their stay in high school to more than 4 years or causing students to drop out before completing their credits .... or math teachers will have to lower the standards of the class in order for more students to be able to pass. If teachers lower the standards of the class, it is no longer a solid Pre-Calculus class.
There was a time when only students who were planning on going to college and majoring in engineering or architecture or mathematics or physics or medicine actually took 4 years of Math and 4 years of science. There are a large number of college degrees and life professions which require little or no Math background.
Meanwhile, people cannot balance a checkbook nor keep track of credit card debts nor reasonably figure out a household budget. But they WILL be able to identify an equation as being that of an Ellipse, or a Parabola, or a Hyperbola, or a Circle. Life skills, for sure.
Is High School now just College Prep? What happened to teaching life skills? What will happen to the people who simply cannot pass those 4 years of Math and Science and who end up dropping out? What happened to the over 40,000 students who did not graduate from Texas Public schools last year because they couldn't pass the TAKS test? Where are they now?
Is it not public education's job to educate THE PUBLIC? And approximately half the public has a below average IQ!! Where are the people with an 80 or 85 IQ supposed to go? What are they supposed to do? Are we lifting a High School diploma out of their reach? Don't we want these people to be viable members of society ... able to work and contribute to our system? I am not talking about people with below 70 IQ ... they qualify for Special Education. I am talking about people with between 70 and 100 IQ who are actually functioning at their IQ level. Good people, wonderful people, hard-working people .... look around you in a public place ... half the people you see qualify. They do not qualify for Special Ed in any way. Special Ed is either for people with a below 70 IQ or for people whose functioning IQ is more than one standard deviation below their actual IQ. ((Special ED is NOT what the general public thinks it is. Look it up.))
I am a retired Math teacher. I am now a Private Math Tutor. I expect my business to grow leaps and bounds as this year's freshmen move through their math courses. I also expect my frustrations to grow equally. I love Math ... and I would like all people to enjoy Math. I just don't think everyone needs to learn Pre-Calculus to get a High School diploma.
