Math, science are key in education
I disagree with Jeff Kocsis’ “A Differing View” (“Most grads won’t use high school math and science,” July 17) about the value of mathematics education in high school.
Math, like music education, creates brain power and analytical thinking while liberal arts are nothing more than opinion and memorization. Translation: brainwashing.
Primary and secondary education require civics and history schooling, but most liberal arts are simply someone’s opinion.
It’s best to teach high school students science and math, the realities of our physical world and quantitative fact so that they can develop their powers of analytical thinking and hence the ability to think for themselves — something certainly frowned upon by the educational establishment.
Keep the math and science and chuck the politics, political correctness classes and green studies. Math and science help students understand the world in which we live.
By the way, I use algebra almost daily.
Dennis Hammond, Lakewood
And add biology and evolution and all the other sciences.
Lets teach a little geology and weather and climate.
Civics and history, got to have that, and American government, or would opinions creep into these areas too.?
Posted by Sharon B. on July 24, 2007 01:53 AMhey sharon you are showing how you cant read again. when dennis said keep science in the classroom he was including all of you sicence remarks.
lets see history is rewritten daily by the teachers union puppets in classrooms to only teach what they want. yes opinions are already in american government classes.
even with the war in iraq i would wager that most high school students couldnt find it on a map if they had to. we dont need anymore of algores climate being taught as every kid is now being brainwashed with doom and the environment in all classes in school.
Posted by on July 24, 2007 05:47 AM:
"when dennis said keep science in the classroom he was including all of you sicence remarks."
Let's get good grammar and proper sentence construction back in the classroom!
Posted by Charles B on July 24, 2007 06:28 AMWhat in the hell are "green studies'?
Posted by Curious on July 24, 2007 07:18 AMCharles, that would be english composition.
But we must teach all of the illegals english or speak in their language. That is why english is not mentioned anywhere in that rant or even in our state legislature last session. Imagine our high school seniors actually graduating literate in english! They shot that one down for some unknown (nonfunded mandate BS) reason.
Posted by on July 24, 2007 07:49 AMGood idea. Let's have people who are great in the laboratory but don't know a thing about government or history. That will make it a lot easier for Big Brother to have his way. What is that they say about the need to know history so you won't repeat the bad parts?
I do agree with Dennis that we badly need math and science. But as is often the case with posters he goes overboard and wants to chuck everything else. So he ends up being an extremist when what we need, as always, is a middle course.
Posted by Truth on July 24, 2007 07:51 AMCharles B
Fat-fingering the keyboard is not bad grammar. Have all your posts been perfectly spelled?
Truth: When Have you ever taken the middle course?
American schools do not exist to teach children to think, we send our kids to learn how to become consumers;
http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/MomsPDFs/DDDoA.pdf
The National Education Association is out to prolong their own power. We must take responsibility for our children and end public schools.
Curious? Try more, and see John Taylor Gatto's essay here;
http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html
The six main lessons our children learn are not in the three Rs.
Posted by Holy Reality on July 24, 2007 08:51 AMeerr? Truth, have your read 1984? Big brother is you: the social collectivist. I enjoy your occational wry humor on your posts. But you miss the point. We are weak in math and science and weaker in history and civics. The use of idealology in the classroom is deplorable. Two student reported to me that a teacher (an outspoken socialist) called Mr. Bush a lying rat @#%^! and several other explictives. This is not education but indoctrination. There is no free flow of ideas as is indemic of Socialism and 1984. Here is an idea for you socialists out there: Learn the lesson of our brothers and sisters to the south....there is a better country up north. Yes, Canada is in need of people and is socialist. Leave America to those who want individual freedom. It is the only place we have left.
Posted by Tom on July 24, 2007 08:58 AMMath ignorance is surely a strong contributor to the current foreclosure situation (people can't do simple math to see what their future payments will be) and probably to the national budget deficit as well. All Congressmen and the Executive should be required to take the SAT test ( Math and Verbal) and post their grades.
Posted by Liam on July 24, 2007 09:49 AMI'm sure you'd like "Intelligent Design" as part of the science curriculum, though, wouldn't you Dennis? I'm sure you think that's not "brainwashing."
Posted by drew on July 24, 2007 09:53 AMYou want to teach our children math, science, English, research skills, civics, history and geography? That will certainly cut the ranks of Republican voters in the near future and thus reduce the perverse pleasure I derive from Republican hypocrisy, incompetence, arrogance and downright stupidity.
Posted by Sean on July 24, 2007 10:28 AMFirst of all, the side that wins the war writes the history. We know that is not the whole story now that research is so easy via the computer. There are many sides to history that were unkown just a few years ago and much of that knowledge derives from geology, archaeology and agricultural historians. All of these disciplines require extensive education in math, history, reading, music, social and political systems, and a basic understanding of foudational human behavior. All that just to be able to unwrap the mysteries of an historical era.
Any educational system that is not well rounded is for all intents and purposes nothing less than restrictive. The purpose of education is to teach people how to learn,not what to learn. Until teachers understand this fundamental tenet, our educational system will not be sufficient to the demands of the future.
Posted by Allen Campbell on July 24, 2007 12:20 PMYou're funny, Tom. You say "Two student reported to me that a teacher (an outspoken socialist) called Mr. Bush a lying rat @#%^! and several other explictives."
I'll whisper this to you so as not to embarrass you too much. There are a lot of people calling Bush names. I've even heard that some of them are not socialists, or progressives, or liberals, left-wingers or democrats. How do I know? I keep up with the news. You should try it.
But I do agree on one thing and that is that, with all his multitude of faults, he is not a @#%^!, whatever that is. However, I think you'll agree that he comes close to being a $&.
Posted by Truth on July 24, 2007 12:47 PMThe irony exuding from Dennis Hammond's letter is simply wonderful. He condenses an entire field of academic study (the Humanities or what Mr. Hammond calls the "Liberal Arts") into "nothing more than opinion and memorization," equating this to brainwashing while beginning his letter, "I disagree with..."
Perhaps Mr. Hammond was being satirical. But, if he wasn't and doesn't realize his humorous faux pas, I'll point the glaring fallacy in his argument: it *is* an argument. In other words, Mr. Hammond is providing an opinion.
I wonder where he learned to do this? In Algebra class? In Advanced Calculus?
The Humanities exist to enhance critical thinking and analytical skills. The whole field of study includes Philosophy, English, Literature, History, Civics, Sociology, Art, Linguistics, Theology, Music, and Composition. In short, everything that makes us human (outside of biology).
With the recent uproar over immigration and furor over Hispanics who "just won't learn English," the Humanities are more important than ever. How else can we understand and make sense of the world around us without some basis of study?
You cannot create a mathematical formula for culture, language, or religion. Thus, the Humanities focus on the gray aspects of existence.
And, perhaps Mr. Hammond neglected to study the ancient philosophers that refined his daily practice of Algebra. Euclid comes to mind (a philosopher), as does Leonardo da Vinci.
The Liberal Arts are not some bastion of Socialist propaganda or brainwashing imposed on empty minds. The Liberal Arts are there to create critical minds--to allow Mr. Hammond to actually write his letter through the use of language and thought.
Then again, maybe we should just devolve into the "pure" Sciences of Mathematics and Physics. We'll slowly transform all language and thought into binary and communicate through long series of 1's and 0's.
But that's just my opinion.
Posted by Douglas Shoback on July 24, 2007 01:13 PMThe irony exuding from Dennis Hammond's letter is simply wonderful. He condenses an entire field of academic study (the Humanities or what Mr. Hammond calls the "Liberal Arts") into "nothing more than opinion and memorization," equating this to brainwashing while beginning his letter, "I disagree with..."
Perhaps Mr. Hammond was being satirical. But, if he wasn't and doesn't realize his humorous faux pas, I'll point the glaring fallacy in his argument: it *is* an argument. In other words, Mr. Hammond is providing an opinion.
I wonder where he learned to do this? In Algebra class? In Advanced Calculus?
The Humanities exist to enhance critical thinking and analytical skills. The whole field of study includes Philosophy, English, Literature, History, Civics, Sociology, Art, Linguistics, Theology, Music, and Composition. In short, everything that makes us human (outside of biology).
With the recent uproar over immigration and furor over Hispanics who "just won't learn English," the Humanities are more important than ever. How else can we understand and make sense of the world around us without some basis of study?
You cannot create a mathematical formula for culture, language, or religion. Thus, the Humanities focus on the gray aspects of existence.
And, perhaps Mr. Hammond neglected to study the ancient philosophers that refined his daily practice of Algebra. Euclid comes to mind (a philosopher), as does Leonardo da Vinci.
The Liberal Arts are not some bastion of Socialist propaganda or brainwashing imposed on empty minds. The Liberal Arts are there to create critical minds--to allow Mr. Hammond to actually write his letter through the use of language and thought.
Then again, maybe we should just devolve into the "pure" Sciences of Mathematics and Physics. We'll slowly transform all language and thought into binary and communicate through long series of 1's and 0's.
But that's just my opinion.
Posted by Douglas Shoback on July 24, 2007 01:17 PMHammond did not do well in school. (I went to high school with the guy)
Posted by on July 24, 2007 04:41 PM@4:41--
Oh snap!!!
@Douglas Shoback--
It is my opinion that your opinion has a lot of validity. The world is not static and is certainly not black and white and those who aren't prepared to deal with the nuances of our complex modern society are doomed to be left behind.
Posted by Proud LA Major on July 24, 2007 07:02 PM
One of the reasons technical manuals are often so hard to understand is because they are written by people with the Dennis Hammond mindset: i.e. who only know math and science, don't know how to communicate to others who aren't as knowledgeable.
You learn in the liberal arts to take the literacy level of whoever your writing for, into account, so they can actually understand it. What good is a math textbook or lab manual if you can't understand it?
While I agree that math and science are important, your attack on liberal arts as being simply "brainwashing" is absurd. One of the biggest problems with k-12 school is precisely that "liberal arts" classes are not emphasized nearly enough. Courses in philosophy, etc, allow for independent thought and personal reflection instead of simply chruning out an army of "brainwashed" consumers that know basic calculus.
Posted by Kyle on July 25, 2007 03:04 AMWell said, Kyle.
You know what would be great to see being taught in schools? A little bit of basic financials. I work in a bank, and on a daily basis have grown adults who cannot balance check books, don't understand how credit works, some don't even know the difference between a checking an savings account.
I'd love to see a high school that takes time to teach students about investments and savings, and at least the very basics of how banking works so they're a bit more prepared for the real world.
You know what would be great to see being taught in schools? A little bit of basic financials. I work in a bank, and on a daily basis have grown adults who cannot balance check books, don't understand how credit works, some don't even know the difference between a checking an savings account.
I'd love to see a high school that takes time to teach students about investments and savings, and at least the very basics of how banking works so they're a bit more prepared for the real world.