Math Isn't the Problem, the Way It's Taught Is
Here's an interesting study by some Alabama college professors that claims the typical math sequence of American high schools isn't meeting students' needs. Their conclusion is that most kids need less algebra, trig, and calculus, but more statistics and data analysis. I agree, and have said for years, that Statistics is probably the "math" class we teach in high school that is most useful to most students for their future. But I don't think the problem is the typical math sequence in high school. Our problem is we (the math education professional community) have largely lost sight of WHY the math sequence is what it is. It was never implemented because everyone needs to know the sine of 30 degrees, or because everyone needs to know the quadratic formula, or that everyone needs to know the end behavior of a polynomial function. The reason for the sequence is to grow and train PROBLEM SOLVERS. Taught correctly, the math conventional math sequence from 1st grad...