July 11, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008'8th-graders face algebra mandate '
Good, eighth graders should be expected to learn algebra. High school seniors should be expected to learn calculus for that matter.
And draft a basic business letter using correct grammar.
That would be awesome, no?
According to the article, many are “outraged” at this new expectation. It’s unfair to expect youngsters to learn the “notoriously difficult subject without a massive infusion of cash to pay for books, computer programs, and more class time and more qualified teachers.”
If there were EVER a subject that required no materials, it’s math. A pen and an overhead projector or a chalkboard and some chalk are pretty much all you need. If the math teachers we have now can’t teach algebra, then fire them.
[…]
I hate when people whine about math being haaaard. It’s not. We’re just lazy.
This mandate will probably never take hold or never be enforced in a way that gives us a generation of leading Californian mathematicians and scientists, but wouldn’t that be great?
Yes. Ditto. (emphasis added)
“Percentage of CT readers.” What is that, 28 people? Actually, as Squashed points out, it should say, “Percentage of CT readers who responded to an online poll.” So, more like 9 people. Ok, enough snark. To be fair, CT notes the number of votes for each date ranging from 1500 - 3200 and warns, “take the polls with a grain of salt”. However, online polls are notoriously, uh, worthless.
Nevertheless I think we can make 2 observations from this data:
- people are sheep.
- Christians never liked Hillary very much.
(via squashed)
The state’s fastest growing city over 100,000 population between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, says the Census Bureau, was — drumroll, please — Victorville in the so-called “high desert” northeast of Los Angeles. In fact, it was the second fastest growing city in the nation at 9.5 percent.” —California Political Columnist - Dan Walters: California by the Numbers
Heh, Victorville in the SacBee (a so-called “newspaper”)