It’s quite bold what John Bennett is saying in the video above. He discusses how his teaching strategies have changed over the years, which have led him to the conclusion that math should not be a required subject past middle school. In my opinion, he’s right… and that’s coming from someone who loves math! I just don’t think it’s necessary to force kids to learn things that aren’t useful.
My oldest daughter completed Algebra II in the tenth grade. That was more than satisfactory for me, however my step-sister, a high school math teacher, really believes my daughter should continue taking higher math classes, even though my daughter has no interest in any fields which require higher level math.
I believe the important thing is that children learn the basic skills everyone needs as an adult, and that they learn reasoning and critical thinking skills. These skills can be learned in early math classes, games and through programs like Math Vocabulary Adventure and other researched based programs that teach students to become effective thinkers.
What is the highest level of math that you expect your children to complete?
About the Author
Amanda Shoemaker is a work-at-home mom who blogs more than she should and spends much of her time learning alongside her 3 girls.
How much Math? As much as I can shove them through, until such point they're either totally full up on all the Math the universe has to offer or they are 100% convinced that they don't want a technical career that will involve needing higher maths.
For people sure that they don't want to be an Engineer or some other career path that involves lots of higher math, I think it's a totally valid point. I had to relearn freakin' Algebra when my kids got to that level because I never, ever use it.
I do think that everyone should be super-competent in regular math, though. For most kids that's going to involve refresher courses through the high school level if they're not going the Algebra/Trig/Calculus route.
I expect my kids to complete Advanced Algebra and at LEAST introduction to Trig basics. If they have no desire for anything beyond that, fine, but that is minimal for a competent college 101 math student.
How basic, Kimberly? Are you referring to the basics that are usually covered in high school Geometry and Algebra II courses? Or something more?
Even though I've been a programmer for 12 years (self-taught php and perl) and therefore use math all of the time, I never personally took Trig or anything beyond Algebra II myself. I also never went to college… therefore never took a college 101 course… so I'm genuinely curious if I'm missing something.
I've asked lots of people and no one has given me a reason to need higher math. That's what intrigued me so much about this video.