[vernotixas]

What an idiot.

[JosephNF]

What does he say about Algeria though. Does he think it should have a capital like Algebra?

[Maydayvar]

After arithmatic, algebra is the math I use most in real life.

[Sellorect]

Please explain what the ideology and partisan affiliation of this person has to do with his opinions on the merits of Algebra and English literature.

He says idiotic **** and is a liberal Democrat.

[milfovoxapl]

This is the NY Times. Since when do they need to use Algebra? They might actually figure out that they are losing money.

[BonjGopu]

The issue is not with algebra per se, but the overall difficulty level of high school. What he says is also true of languages - no matter how hard you try, some people just can't spell.

Finishing high school should be an accomplishment, not a given. Redirect those who can't (due to either social or natural sciences) to trades as early as 14-15 yo.

[gnusnich]

It's not really deciding the future IMO - a lot of jobs that require a college degree should not.

[ftpsoft]

It's not really deciding the future IMO - a lot of jobs that require a college degree should not.

Deciding that someone at 14 is too dumb for a high school diploma and college and should do a specific trde is pretty close to deciding their future.

[dremucha]

The issue is not with algebra per se, but the overall difficulty level of high school. What he says is also true of languages - no matter how hard you try, some people just can't spell.

Finishing high school should be an accomplishment, not a given. Redirect those who can't (due to either social or natural sciences) to trades as early as 14-15 yo.

Equality 7-2521

[somamasoso]

Hey Albie, how often do you use algebra while working as a bellboy?

[Adfcvkdg]

i agree with this. at 14 it's pretty clear which children are suited to a more academic education and which would be better served by a more practical one.

I disagree. There's too many kids that change in the teenage years. Some people don't get serious about academics until undergrad or even later! And then they blossom.

[pennadyFeet]

i'm sure that happens in some cases, but i'm not convinced it's very common. i remember in my school there were a fair number of pupils who were just completely fed up with school by about 14 and no doubt the teachers couldn't wait to see the back of them as well. they were made to sit through another two years, learning very little because they weren't interested and naturally some them would disrupt the class, making it harder for everyone to learn. maybe one or two got serious during those two years, but majority drifted through, learning nothing and then left with few/no qualifications and a hatred of education.

it would have been much better if instead of sitting there bored out of their skulls while someone explained to them about social history during the first world war, someone could have been showing them how to take a car engine apart, or build circuits, or how plumbing works etc. they'd have found it more interesting and actually learnt something useful.

Why can't they do both?

In our traditional high school, you can take mechanics, electronics, etc.

If you're so inclined, you can also request a transfer to a "vocational high school" which is ~75% trades development and 25% "life skills".

[Fdmnrnba]

I remember a semester of Economics being required in high school. Of course, with four years of English being required but only three years of math, they must have had messed up priorities according to Al

[ansarigf]

I remember a semester of Economics being required in high school. Of course, with four years of English being required but only three years of math, they must have had messed up priorities according to Al

We had no economics but had the choice of either drama or philosophy. We had 4 years of English, 4 years of foreign language, and 4 years of math. How did you only have 3 years of math? Algebra II, Geometry, Trig, Calculus is the standard 4-year high school progression.

And I have no idea what that rolleyes smiley is about.

[andreas]

We had no economics but had the choice of either drama or philosophy. We had 4 years of English, 4 years of foreign language, and 4 years of math. How did you only have 3 years of math? Algebra II, Geometry, Trig, Calculus is the standard 4-year high school progression.

And I have no idea what that rolleyes smiley is about.

Most students either had Algebra I, Geometry, and Algrbra II, or if they took Algebra I in 8th grade, they had Geometry, Algebra II, and Pre-Calculus (basically Trig). AP Calculus was optional but students who intended to go to college generally took it. I think only two years of a foreign language were required?

[DJkillos]

Yeah because 14 year olds know what they want to do for the rest of their lives.

If they change their mind, it's not like you lose the ability to learn Algebra when you become an adult.

[Niobaralegra]

We need more educated students in America. How else will they be able to have conversations with the Chinese?

[GarryPaterson]

The plebs all got jobs that didn't require wearing a bellhop's uniform

???

I wear my own suit to work.

[Fiesialenp]

They made you buy your bellhop uniform? What a ripoff. Although on second thought, maybe that was their clever way to give you an incentive not to quit in the first month, since you'll want to get your money's worth out of the uniform.

Huh?

I've owned this suit for several years now. It's a Jones New York. A regular business suit. Only thing they gave me was a nametag and a radio with earpiece.

[Knillagrarp]

Claiming that this type of attitude is not more prevalent on the left is like claiming that American conservatives aren't more likely to be homophobes.

What type of attitude, exactly? I don't think the left is particularly more likely to advocate vocational education as an alternative to the standard high school curriculum. Or is this about his attitude that college students should receive a liberal arts education and read English literature?