Hawke wrote:

Yep, you're right, You just like to argue.
Hawke

:-) Partly that and I don't have a job or even my volunteer
position now that school is out. (retired 10 yrs ago)
I'm not talking about what you are calling "higher math"
necessarily, but having been in close contact with several
hundred high school students over the last 6 or 7 years
that cant do arithmetic let alone algebra or trig I can
tell you exactly the competance of your typical high school
student. :-(
When I went to school we had Algebra I, Algebra II,
Plane Geometry, Solid Geometry, and Trigonometry.
Calculus, diferential and integral I didn't get till college.
That served me very well and a lot of other folks I know.
...lew...



Here's the problem. You guys that can do and understand math remind me
of
the basketball players that say I don't see what's so hard about dunking
a
basketball and why can't you do it. All my friends can. Most people just
can't understand math. The people who do understand it think it's easy
and
can't see why others don't get it. Just like the basketball player. To
me
math is like when you go to the eye doctor and they show you the color
blindness charts where it's a circle filled with colored dots and there
is a
number in the middle, which you can see if you're not colorblind. But if
you're color blind you can't see anything. That's math. If you get it
you
can see the number in the circle if you can't you see nothing. Most
people
could never complete a class in trig, calculus, or what comes after. It
takes a certain type of brain to understand that stuff. Those of you who
get
it are lucky. Most of us are not. Even so, I still think there are other
classes that would be more helpful for most students than mathematics.
Aside
from Goodwill Hunting, I've never seen a janitor or anyone working
construction, or on an oil rig, or selling cars, or cage fighting, or so
many other jobs doing equations. Like you said, most people can't even
do
simple arithmetic, but I can understand why.

Hawke

OK Hawke, I see your point. I guess My BIG complaint should be with
the "mainlining", or what ever they call it, trying to push every
kid through the same curriculum and the whole concept of "No Child
Left Behind". I can relate to your argument with History and language,
I flunked History 21 and German 1 in college the first time through.
Math and sciences were a breeze. (struggled like hell with english
comp) :-)
I guess different brains work different.
...lew...

Yep, you get it. I think math and music are a lot alike. Some people seem to
have a talent for one or the other, sometimes both. If you are lucky you
just seem to get how it works. I've always found that the people that are
good at math have a different type of brain. Understanding it and finding it
kind of easy seems to be something you either have or you don't. When you
have the math type brain you can just whiz from one level of math to the
next. The ordinary person just doesn't see what is clear to you. Because of
this the people who are math types tend to think those who don't get it are
stupid but that's not the case. I think it's just a different type of
thinking. Artists are similar. A lot of art is learned but the really good
artists and musicians have a talent for it from a young age. Mathematicians
seem to be the same. You have a grasp of it right away or you don't. If you
find math easy and you learn it quickly consider yourself lucky. The rest of
us don't have that talent. We may be able to learn some of it after a lot of
hard work but it never comes easy like it does to others. But I still think
that making everyone take calculus like they are doing in China is a waste
of most student's time. There are better alternatives for most than spending
that much time on math.

Hawke