One particular valid point you have made is that she pointed out a particular race rather than making an over the board statement. As to the rest, we do indeed have a problem (several actually) with government education in that they are enforcing conceptual learning instead of foundational learning at the early levels. As a student grows to the upper levels when they are supposed to be in some college preparatory curriculum, they are instead still trying to bang out the basics. Black, White, or indifferent, there are very few who can build a house from the roof down and to build a whole skyscraper starting from the top to the bottom is impossible.
The whole scenario does bring up a bit of angst because although I do not feel myself to be a defeatist, I cannot fathom anything that I can do to change anything. It is a foreign world to me in that those who are in a guidance position are more like educated Morlocks readying their followers, the Eloi, by teaching them to learn only the sound of the horn. Like Pavlov's dogs or mice in a maze, those who are willing only abide well when they are being mechanically tuned by some dubious hierarchy and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it in my life time. When did the search for excellence become a journey too difficult for the masses and when did mediocrity replace virtuosity and when did ignorance become so comfortable? At some point, everything changed and changed so dramatically and devastatingly that as an earthquake leaves a chasm in it's wake, it was there and there is virtually nothing that can be done to stop it from growing into an abyss of ignorance. What can I do? Pray I guess because no matter how much I try to teach, write and sometimes scream, it seems that the alternative is more alluring.
@Ken Anderson Dropped out of Trigonometry? How could you! One of my most favorite endeavors in the realm of Math, as it's so very basic and useful! Ah, well, I know Math "ain't for everyone". In high school, for me, Trig was not easy. The basic concepts applied to triangles were straightforward enough, but those absurd "identities" thrown at us were absolutely bewildering! Who could have predicted that, my having Trig in 1960, might "repercuss" back in 2002, 40+ years later, when I was called upon to teach it to a classroom of small-town Missouri high school seniors? Believe it or not, I "saw-through" then, many of the pitfalls which blocked my understanding of it all at 18, as these kids were now, and was determined to explain to them the very quirks which prevented my understanding when I was their age. They picked up on it! Reflecting upon this, I wonder now, today, what proportion of young adults are even exposed to traditional Math aspects. Computer mechanisms now set up and solve those problems which were practical to use of Trigonometry back then. Frank
Despite two years of algebra in high school, with reasonably good grades, I just didn't get it. On test days, I had to quickly write as many of the formulas in the margins as I could before I forgot them, which occurred because I didn't understand anything about it. Twenty years later, I realized that the drug calculations that I was teaching to my paramedic students was algebra. I still had to refresh myself on it each year before I taught another pharmacology course. Then, when the technical institute I was teaching for became a college, I was able to farm some of our coursework out. I had gotten to know a woman who had been teaching a business math course, and she agreed to tailor her course for my students. She came up with a way of doing drug calculations that was much simpler than the methods shown in any of the four paramedic textbooks that were out at the time, doing the math by percentages, and it was way easier. The other advantage was that I could see a real-world use for it, although in practice we rarely had to do any such calculations. Several years later, the paramedic textbooks began including that method of doing drug calculations.
If math teachers and students recognized that math is nothing more than a language of its own, I feel that both would be the better for it because it is indeed, a language.
@Ken Anderson You then can appreciate this point: Often the question of splitting a tablet in two in order to secure two half-doses of medication, comes up. Understanding that the whole dose may be 1 or 2 milligrams, small as a grain of salt, the tablet itself must be large enough to deal with physically, maybe having an overall weight of 1000 mg. So, if that speck of medication is simply thrown in somewhere, and the tablet sliced in two, odds are the whole speck is contained in one piece, with only filler present in the other. If the speck is "homogenized" into the tablet uniformly, then splitting it results in 50-50 distribution. Best advice I've heard on this came from a Pharmacist: If a tablet is lined, it is uniformly mixed, and may be split in two. No line, don't split. Frank
Nailed it! This is just what I was thinking. I only scanned the article because frankly it's offensive. I'm liberal but these nutty liberal SJW types have lost their minds. And that's what a lot of them sound like: "I'm this cool liberal white person speaking for the black people who aren't able to speak for themselves. What would they do without me? I'm so enlightened" Ah no your not. Your an idiot. Article didn't mention all those Asians who have been kicking academic ass for years. Though I have also read in SJW circles, Asians are now considered like whites as too many have become too successful and that just won't do. People can be smart and they can be dumb. I've wondered if people can march in the streets thousands at a time and bring in all the money that BLM has, can't they do something to get food sources into food deserts and make other community improvements. I think they can.
A solution to the problem might be to have everyone with a smartphone, get the app 'PhotoMath'. Take a picture of the math problem and it will give you the answer and a step-by-step guide of how each problem is solved. No longer will you have to worry about those pesky formulas or even to think. Just know how to download an app, which any 4 year old knows. Problem solved...
@Tim Burr And new problem develops? Gradual diminishment of gray-matter ability to do work anymore which it formerly performed easily. Might this lead to total reliance on the new technology for everything, like remembering to breathe? Frank
@Frank Sanoica I'm not very good at sarcasm, my humble attempt. I was thinking back to when I took the Stationary Engineer and Boiler Inspector Exam to get my License. Lots of formulas to remember and I studied like a mad man... Made my own 'flash' cards and carried them and had people ask me questions. Was very proud when I scored well and got my license. Now there are a lot of 'short cuts', but does that help society to 'Dumb Down' the way knowledge is obtained? I see workers who are unprepared for even the simplest task. They can't follow the 'chain of events' that lead to proper troubleshooting a problem. Our everyday equipment is getting more complex, but it's getting harder to find people who want to spend the time required to learn how to repair them. I foresee more problems in this area as time goes by...
@Tim Burr I greatly appreciate your response. But do not fully understand it's impact; perhaps I am relating to a different type of scenerio, but no matter. We both agree upon equipment becoming unduly complex, with the increasing scarcity of folks adequately trained, as well as experienced, to properly service them. Frank
The Racial Blame Game: An irrational quantitative rationalization in response to the failings and/or frailties of an individual or race. (my definition) In a simpler form: If a black person is functionally illiterate, it's a white person's fault. No matter which bit of research I peruse, there is NONE that can absolutely nail down why nearly 40% of black children by the 4th grade are functionally illiterate. They go to school, just like their racial counterparts. The entire class is taught the same thing, no matter the race. They have the same homework, are graded the same way but are achieving less than their peers. Why? Is it their home life or parental support? Cultural differences? Different mental acuity based on methodology? Do the schools themselves support other races differently? Do the walls of the classroom have to be painted differently in order to provide a better learning experience? What? Instead of looking at each and every factor involved with the African American learning experience and why such a large portion of them are not learning at the same speed as their racial peers, an overwhelming response is: White privilege. It's crap. Every educator and professor knows that but rather than looking inward and affixing a valid solution to the problem they look outward to justify their own existence. We have math guys who are looking at the smallest particles in quantum space in order to define life and creation itself but figuring out why Jameel (as opposed to Johnny) will not ( not can not) learn the same basics as his peers. Hence, the rationalization. Note again: the true definition for rationalize is "rational-lies."
The black people who I know, and am close to, are no less literate or functional than the white people who have been in my life. so I would reject the idea that there are any genetic flaws in place here. Were we able to discuss actual issues in America, I think we'd find that those who don't succeed, or won't succeed, live in areas that are not conducive to success, probably for a variety of reasons. I think we would find that white people who grow up under similar conditions would be statistically similar, were we to compare successes and failures. Does it have to do with educational resources? Perhaps to some extent, but I doubt that this plays a big part, since taxpayers have been throwing tons of money at failing schools for decades now, with little success. More than anything, I think it has to do with a culture that does not encourage success, in the way that we might measure it. I don't think that this is necessarily a black culture, since black people who grow up in different areas don't share it. Perhaps it could be thought of as a regional black culture, but similar cultures exist among other populations, as well. When I lived in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, I was involved with the Boy Scouts and as a paramedic, pretty much every city, college or company that I worked for had an outreach in the schools, so I would regularly teach various safety, first aid, CPR, and other courses in the public schools. What I found is that, although there are almost no black people in the Rio Grande Valley, there is a culture that does not encourage academic success. When I say this, I am by no means saying that these kids cannot succeed, or that many of them do not succeed. There are certainly a lot of kids who do well in school, and in their lives after school, including some who are a lot more intelligent and accomplished than I am. It can be done, and it is done. However, there is a culture that places academic success in a negative light among their peers. Some of these kids don't want to stand out in any way that can be measured as academic success. They may be bright, and they may even have goals that you might think would put them on the path to success, but they are afraid to stand out by getting good grades in school. Perhaps that sets them apart from a lot of the people who they depend on. In many cases, this extends beyond their peers. I knew one kid who killed himself at the age of eighteen. He would come around the ambulance station, and I'd pay him to wash the ambulances sometime. He played football in junior high school, and it bothered him that his parents never once came to watch him play so, although I have no interest in football, I tried to make it to his games. He was a bright kid, but he couldn't see much of a future for himself. At the same time, he didn't want to succeed in school. I gave him books, but his father would throw them away, and they discouraged him from speaking English. Regardless of skin tone or geography, those who want to succeed can, although not everyone measures success in the same way. I can understand a fear of losing a culture, but if that culture doesn't allow you to have a future, then it doesn't make any sense. I loved my hometown in Michigan, but there was nothing for me to do for a living there, and most of those who stayed did not do well, at least by my estimation. Perhaps being able to live your life where you want to be was more valuable to them than earning a decent living, so it's hard to say. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, except to say that if there is a lack of success among black people, I doubt that it has very much to do with their skin tone or DNA. I had a black roommate in college and my white privilege certainly didn't give me an edge. We were in different classes so it was hard to say, but he was no less accomplished than I was.
Very interesting post @Ken Anderson Very sad to read about that young man. It's unfortunate that at that age many don't see a way out. He could have just left home and got away but of coarse wouldn't be able to realize that at the time. Especially with such a domineering father it sounded like.
I am a retired math teacher and I think she is right. She just did not word it very well. I think all she is saying is that although everyone should have a thorough knowledge of arithmetic, not everyone needs to take algebra and geometry. These courses should not be required to get a high school diploma. it causes to many dropouts to have algebra and geometry as required subjects. Too many kids , both black and white, struggle with these courses. But especially the black kids, because , more of them live in the inner city, where schools are not as good.