|
Read the rules in the OP before posting, please.In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up! NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious. Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action. |
On March 29 2016 04:52 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +Three people, backed by civil liberties groups, on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against North Carolina’s sweeping new LGBT discrimination law, which the plaintiffs say violates the constitution.
Governor Pat McCrory last week signed into law a bill that blocks local governments from enacting laws with anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people and requires transgender people to use bathrooms that match with their biological sex, even if doing so violates their gender identity.
House Bill 2 (HB2) was shuttled through the state government in one day, inspiring a protest from Democratic lawmakers and ensuring a swift response from civil liberties groups despite the Easter weekend. The federal lawsuit was announced on Sunday night.
“By singling out LGBT people for disfavored treatment and explicitly writing discrimination against transgender people into state law,” the lawsuit said, “HB2 violates the most basic guarantees of equal treatment and the US constitution.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal and Equality North Carolina brought the litigation, which charges the state and the University of North Carolina with a wide range of unconstitutional acts.
The suit said the law violated the constitution’s equal protection clause by discriminating against people based on gender; the right to privacy, because it will force transgender people to out themselves; Title IX, which prohibits educational institutions that receive public funds from discriminating based on gender; and the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, because to access facilities consistent with their gender identity, transgender people must undergo medical procedures, even against a doctor’s advice. Source
Shouldn't they be using the more accurate term "Transgender", given this has nothing to do with gays, lesbians, or bisexuals? No real reason to say it's an LGBT issue. It's just a T issue.
|
No because it's about solidarity.
|
On March 29 2016 05:35 killa_robot wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 04:52 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Three people, backed by civil liberties groups, on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against North Carolina’s sweeping new LGBT discrimination law, which the plaintiffs say violates the constitution.
Governor Pat McCrory last week signed into law a bill that blocks local governments from enacting laws with anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people and requires transgender people to use bathrooms that match with their biological sex, even if doing so violates their gender identity.
House Bill 2 (HB2) was shuttled through the state government in one day, inspiring a protest from Democratic lawmakers and ensuring a swift response from civil liberties groups despite the Easter weekend. The federal lawsuit was announced on Sunday night.
“By singling out LGBT people for disfavored treatment and explicitly writing discrimination against transgender people into state law,” the lawsuit said, “HB2 violates the most basic guarantees of equal treatment and the US constitution.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal and Equality North Carolina brought the litigation, which charges the state and the University of North Carolina with a wide range of unconstitutional acts.
The suit said the law violated the constitution’s equal protection clause by discriminating against people based on gender; the right to privacy, because it will force transgender people to out themselves; Title IX, which prohibits educational institutions that receive public funds from discriminating based on gender; and the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, because to access facilities consistent with their gender identity, transgender people must undergo medical procedures, even against a doctor’s advice. Source Shouldn't they be using the more accurate term "Transgender", given this has nothing to do with gays, lesbians, or bisexuals? No real reason to say it's an LGBT issue. It's just a T issue.
Those groups are generally lumped together because laws that allow discrimination against one of those groups generally effect the others. Also through this law specifically targeted trangender people, it weakens the protections of gay individuals against discrimination.
I also think there were a bunch of other things tacked onto that law. Or maybe that as another state that rushed out their anti-trangender brain child that will protect no one from anything.
|
Besides the public hearing exposing willful violations of state election law by the SoS (and that many ballots are yet to be counted), we also got Hillary saying Bernie is too mean to her for her to debate him... And she's supposed to be ready for Trump? Laughable.
And of course no one contradicts Hillary as well as Hillary does.
|
Only in the world of GH could a public request for Sanders to stop running negative ads in exchange for another debate be seen as “he is to mean.”
That is politics. Sanders wants another debate, which means he is asking for something. He needs to offer something in return.
|
On March 29 2016 05:47 Plansix wrote:
Only in the world of GH could a public request for Sanders to stop running negative ads in exchange for another debate be seen as “he is to mean.”
That is politics. Sanders wants another debate, which means he is asking for something. He needs to offer something in return.
Can someone link to the negative ads and/or mean tone that Sanders is taking with Hillary? He has based a lot of his platform on how she isn't as progressive as she thinks she is, but I haven't seen anything yet that I would consider an attack or mean-spirited, especially considering what is happening on the other side.
|
On March 29 2016 05:47 Plansix wrote:
Only in the world of GH could a public request for Sanders to stop running negative ads in exchange for another debate be seen as “he is to mean.”
That is politics. Sanders wants another debate, which means he is asking for something. He needs to offer something in return.
He's only asking that it be in NY. Everyone involved agreed to the debate a long time ago. But go on desperately spinning the story by misrepresenting the truth.
EDIT: That you are presenting it her trying to back out of an long agreed to debate as "he is asking" is such strong bullshit I can smell it through the internet
|
Why in the world does it matter where the debate is held?
|
On March 29 2016 05:51 Mohdoo wrote:
Why in the world does it matter where the debate is held?
Presumably the same reason Clinton insisted on one debate being in Flint and one in NH.
|
On March 29 2016 05:43 GreenHorizons wrote:Besides the public hearing exposing willful violations of state election law by the SoS (and that many ballots are yet to be counted), we also got Hillary saying Bernie is too mean to her for her to debate him... And she's supposed to be ready for Trump? Laughable. And of course no one contradicts Hillary as well as Hillary does. https://twitter.com/PittsBern/status/714535203125985281
I think I finally found a picture of GH on the internets:
![[image loading]](http://galeri.uludagsozluk.com/29/kalimero_36910.gif)
User was warned for this post
|
On March 29 2016 05:49 GreenHorizons wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 05:47 Plansix wrote:
Only in the world of GH could a public request for Sanders to stop running negative ads in exchange for another debate be seen as “he is to mean.”
That is politics. Sanders wants another debate, which means he is asking for something. He needs to offer something in return.
He's only asking that it be in NY. Everyone involved agreed to the debate a long time ago. But go on desperately spinning the story by misrepresenting the truth.
You are correct, I thought it was a new debate. But now he wants it in NYC and that wasn't agreed to yet. So he publicly asks for it and he gets the public response. That is how the process works. If he wants to set the place and time to exactly what he wants, he needs to offer Clinton a reason to agree to that.
|
On March 29 2016 05:51 Acrofales wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 05:43 GreenHorizons wrote:Besides the public hearing exposing willful violations of state election law by the SoS (and that many ballots are yet to be counted), we also got Hillary saying Bernie is too mean to her for her to debate him... And she's supposed to be ready for Trump? Laughable. And of course no one contradicts Hillary as well as Hillary does. https://twitter.com/PittsBern/status/714535203125985281 I think I finally found a picture of GH on the internets:
Really, this is what you've resorted to? I suppose with no legitimate contention, posting random pictures is what we're doing here now.
On March 29 2016 05:52 Plansix wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 05:49 GreenHorizons wrote:On March 29 2016 05:47 Plansix wrote:
Only in the world of GH could a public request for Sanders to stop running negative ads in exchange for another debate be seen as “he is to mean.”
That is politics. Sanders wants another debate, which means he is asking for something. He needs to offer something in return.
He's only asking that it be in NY. Everyone involved agreed to the debate a long time ago. But go on desperately spinning the story by misrepresenting the truth. You are correct, I thought it was a new debate. But now he wants it in NYC and that wasn't agreed to yet. So he publicly asks for it and he gets the public response. That is how the process works. If he wants to set the place and time to exactly what he wants, he needs to offer Clinton a reason to agree to that.
You can't even be honest when you're admitting you're wrong... The "time" was set by the DNC not a demand of Sanders.
He's saying he doesn't see a good reason for it not to be in NY and Hillary hasn't provided that or an alternative location.
EDIT: What has been said by her camp is that he needs to "tone down" aka be nicer to her if he wants her to follow through with her commitment to debate.
|
On March 29 2016 05:55 GreenHorizons wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 05:51 Acrofales wrote:On March 29 2016 05:43 GreenHorizons wrote:Besides the public hearing exposing willful violations of state election law by the SoS (and that many ballots are yet to be counted), we also got Hillary saying Bernie is too mean to her for her to debate him... And she's supposed to be ready for Trump? Laughable. And of course no one contradicts Hillary as well as Hillary does. https://twitter.com/PittsBern/status/714535203125985281 I think I finally found a picture of GH on the internets: Really, this is what you've resorted to? I suppose with no legitimate contention, posting random pictures is what we're doing here now.
You didn't have Calimero when growing up in the US? I'm sorry for your childhood.
EDIT: wow, reading up on the wikipedia, the whole idea of equating the willfull underdog position with Calimero is apparently only a thing in Dutch. I need to get out of my back yard a bit more. Anyway, here's what I was going for (apparently in a completely failed attempt at injecting some humor into this thread): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calimero#Impact_in_popular_culture
|
On March 29 2016 05:35 killa_robot wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 04:52 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Three people, backed by civil liberties groups, on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against North Carolina’s sweeping new LGBT discrimination law, which the plaintiffs say violates the constitution.
Governor Pat McCrory last week signed into law a bill that blocks local governments from enacting laws with anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people and requires transgender people to use bathrooms that match with their biological sex, even if doing so violates their gender identity.
House Bill 2 (HB2) was shuttled through the state government in one day, inspiring a protest from Democratic lawmakers and ensuring a swift response from civil liberties groups despite the Easter weekend. The federal lawsuit was announced on Sunday night.
“By singling out LGBT people for disfavored treatment and explicitly writing discrimination against transgender people into state law,” the lawsuit said, “HB2 violates the most basic guarantees of equal treatment and the US constitution.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal and Equality North Carolina brought the litigation, which charges the state and the University of North Carolina with a wide range of unconstitutional acts.
The suit said the law violated the constitution’s equal protection clause by discriminating against people based on gender; the right to privacy, because it will force transgender people to out themselves; Title IX, which prohibits educational institutions that receive public funds from discriminating based on gender; and the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, because to access facilities consistent with their gender identity, transgender people must undergo medical procedures, even against a doctor’s advice. Source Shouldn't they be using the more accurate term "Transgender", given this has nothing to do with gays, lesbians, or bisexuals? No real reason to say it's an LGBT issue. It's just a T issue.
I think the real issue is maintaining the Patriarchal Hierarchy, and T is just the new threat. Each of LGBTBBQ is some kind of chipping away at Patriarchal Hierarchy in law and culture. We use LGBTBBQ because it is easier to label the different people than the socially dominant ones.
|
Sometimes, you forget how insane people really are: Kids are failing, so lets lower standards!
NEW YORK (AP) — Who needs algebra?
That question muttered by many a frustrated student over the years has become a vigorous debate among American educators, sparked by a provocative new book that argues required algebra has become an unnecessary stumbling block that forces millions to drop out of high school or college.
"One out of 5 young Americans does not graduate from high school. This is one of the worst records in the developed world. Why? The chief academic reason is they failed ninth-grade algebra," said political scientist Andrew Hacker, author of "The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions."
Hacker, a professor emeritus at Queens College, argues that, at most, only 5 percent of jobs make use of algebra and other advanced math courses. He favors a curriculum that focuses more on statistics and basic numbers sense and less on (y - 3)2 = 4y - 12.
"Will algebra help you understand the federal budget?" he asked.
Many U.S. educators, including the architects of the Common Core standards, disagree, saying math just needs to be taught more effectively. It's fine for students to have quantitative skills, they say, but algebra is important, too.
"Every study I've ever seen of workers in whole bunches of fields shows that you have to understand formulas, you have to understand relationships," said Philip Uri Treisman, a professor of mathematics and of public affairs at the University of Texas. "Algebra is the tool for consolidating your knowledge of arithmetic."
Bill McCallum, a professor at the University of Arizona who played a lead role in developing the Common Core standards for math, said he would oppose any division of K-12 students into an algebra track and a non-algebra track.
"You might say only a certain percentage of kids will go on to use algebra, but we don't know which kids those are," he said.
In New York City, home to the nation's largest public school system with 1.1 million pupils, just 52 percent of the students who took last year's statewide Regents test in Algebra I passed, mirroring statistics elsewhere in the country.
Rather than scaling back on algebra, New York City educators have announced an "Algebra for All" initiative that aims to keep students on track by providing specialized math teachers in fifth grade, before algebra is introduced.
"We believe in high standards," said Carol Mosesson-Teig, director of mathematics for the city Department of Education. "And we believe that the best way to serve the students is to strengthen the instruction."
Eighteen-year-old Isaiah Aristy took the algebra Regents test twice and failed it both times.
Aristy, now a freshman at the Borough of Manhattan Community College who is hoping for a career in law enforcement, said he was good at math until he hit algebra.
"When it came to x and y and graphing, that's when I started dropping, and it made me feel low," he said. "But we don't need to learn what x and y is. When in life are we going to write on paper, 'X and y needs to be this?'"
Like millions of community college students across the U.S., Aristy must pass a remedial math class with no college credit, and then pass at least one college-level math class, if he wants to get an associate's degree.
But Aristy isn't just repeating Algebra I again. BMCC is one of about 50 community colleges in 14 state that offer an alternative track called Quantway, developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, that seeks to develop quantitative literacy.
"It includes some basic algebra concepts, but you don't learn how to factor polynomials or solve complex equations," said math department Chairman Fred Peskoff.
Project director Karon Klipple said the foundation devised Quantway and a statistics track called Statway in 2011 because of the sheer numbers of students dropping out of community college due to algebra. Sixty to 80 percent of community college students nationwide test into remedial math, and most don't pass it, she said.
"This is where their hopes and aspirations go to die," Klipple said. "They're in college to try to make a better life for themselves, and they're stopped by mathematics."
|
On March 29 2016 05:55 GreenHorizons wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 05:51 Acrofales wrote:On March 29 2016 05:43 GreenHorizons wrote:Besides the public hearing exposing willful violations of state election law by the SoS (and that many ballots are yet to be counted), we also got Hillary saying Bernie is too mean to her for her to debate him... And she's supposed to be ready for Trump? Laughable. And of course no one contradicts Hillary as well as Hillary does. https://twitter.com/PittsBern/status/714535203125985281 I think I finally found a picture of GH on the internets: Really, this is what you've resorted to? I suppose with no legitimate contention, posting random pictures is what we're doing here now. Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 05:52 Plansix wrote:On March 29 2016 05:49 GreenHorizons wrote:On March 29 2016 05:47 Plansix wrote:
Only in the world of GH could a public request for Sanders to stop running negative ads in exchange for another debate be seen as “he is to mean.”
That is politics. Sanders wants another debate, which means he is asking for something. He needs to offer something in return.
He's only asking that it be in NY. Everyone involved agreed to the debate a long time ago. But go on desperately spinning the story by misrepresenting the truth. You are correct, I thought it was a new debate. But now he wants it in NYC and that wasn't agreed to yet. So he publicly asks for it and he gets the public response. That is how the process works. If he wants to set the place and time to exactly what he wants, he needs to offer Clinton a reason to agree to that. You can't even be honest when you're admitting you're wrong... The "time" was set by the DNC not a demand of Sanders. He's saying he doesn't see a good reason for it not to be in NY and Hillary hasn't provided that or an alternative location.
I said I was wrong and you are correct. Sorry if that wasn’t enough for you. Sanders want something. He can either make it worth Clinton’s time or not. That is how politics work. You seem to be confused on the process, but when people make public requests like this, its to back the other side into responding. Normally this stuff is set up via agreement, away from the spot light. Sanders doing this is a clear play for him to try to get a favorable venue and there is no reason for Clinton to agree when the DNC normally sets the location.
I can think of a boat load of reasons for it not to be in NYC, including, traffic and security. Mostly security.
|
I'm sympathetic to kids who have trouble with algebra, but I think it's more a problem that they're not getting the teaching they need (through the entire grade school process) to prepare them for it. I can see an argument for taking out calculus and maybe trigonometry, but algebra needs to stay.
|
On March 29 2016 06:00 cLutZ wrote:Sometimes, you forget how insane people really are: Kids are failing, so lets lower standards!Show nested quote +NEW YORK (AP) — Who needs algebra?
That question muttered by many a frustrated student over the years has become a vigorous debate among American educators, sparked by a provocative new book that argues required algebra has become an unnecessary stumbling block that forces millions to drop out of high school or college.
"One out of 5 young Americans does not graduate from high school. This is one of the worst records in the developed world. Why? The chief academic reason is they failed ninth-grade algebra," said political scientist Andrew Hacker, author of "The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions."
Hacker, a professor emeritus at Queens College, argues that, at most, only 5 percent of jobs make use of algebra and other advanced math courses. He favors a curriculum that focuses more on statistics and basic numbers sense and less on (y - 3)2 = 4y - 12.
"Will algebra help you understand the federal budget?" he asked.
Many U.S. educators, including the architects of the Common Core standards, disagree, saying math just needs to be taught more effectively. It's fine for students to have quantitative skills, they say, but algebra is important, too.
"Every study I've ever seen of workers in whole bunches of fields shows that you have to understand formulas, you have to understand relationships," said Philip Uri Treisman, a professor of mathematics and of public affairs at the University of Texas. "Algebra is the tool for consolidating your knowledge of arithmetic."
Bill McCallum, a professor at the University of Arizona who played a lead role in developing the Common Core standards for math, said he would oppose any division of K-12 students into an algebra track and a non-algebra track.
"You might say only a certain percentage of kids will go on to use algebra, but we don't know which kids those are," he said.
In New York City, home to the nation's largest public school system with 1.1 million pupils, just 52 percent of the students who took last year's statewide Regents test in Algebra I passed, mirroring statistics elsewhere in the country.
Rather than scaling back on algebra, New York City educators have announced an "Algebra for All" initiative that aims to keep students on track by providing specialized math teachers in fifth grade, before algebra is introduced.
"We believe in high standards," said Carol Mosesson-Teig, director of mathematics for the city Department of Education. "And we believe that the best way to serve the students is to strengthen the instruction."
Eighteen-year-old Isaiah Aristy took the algebra Regents test twice and failed it both times.
Aristy, now a freshman at the Borough of Manhattan Community College who is hoping for a career in law enforcement, said he was good at math until he hit algebra.
"When it came to x and y and graphing, that's when I started dropping, and it made me feel low," he said. "But we don't need to learn what x and y is. When in life are we going to write on paper, 'X and y needs to be this?'"
Like millions of community college students across the U.S., Aristy must pass a remedial math class with no college credit, and then pass at least one college-level math class, if he wants to get an associate's degree.
But Aristy isn't just repeating Algebra I again. BMCC is one of about 50 community colleges in 14 state that offer an alternative track called Quantway, developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, that seeks to develop quantitative literacy.
"It includes some basic algebra concepts, but you don't learn how to factor polynomials or solve complex equations," said math department Chairman Fred Peskoff.
Project director Karon Klipple said the foundation devised Quantway and a statistics track called Statway in 2011 because of the sheer numbers of students dropping out of community college due to algebra. Sixty to 80 percent of community college students nationwide test into remedial math, and most don't pass it, she said.
"This is where their hopes and aspirations go to die," Klipple said. "They're in college to try to make a better life for themselves, and they're stopped by mathematics."
You really misrepresented that book. It's not "set the bar lower", but "set the bar somewhere else, because what people are failing on is completely useless in everyday life".
Not that I agree, mind you. Algebra as such is maybe not the most useful in day-to-day life, but the ways algebra makes you think about problems is invaluable. Algebra isn't about knowing an algorithm for solving 3x^2 + 4x = 2, it's about learning how to think about problems in a way so that the algorithm for solving that problem makes sense. If all you're getting from algebra is rote methods to follow to solve silly problems, then I agree with the book: it's utterly useless (even, or maybe even especially, for those 5% of the jobs where algebra is necessary).
Note also, that statistics is hardly simpler than algebra. It is in many ways even more counterintuitive and difficult to comprehend. It is also increasingly important in day-to-day issues, so the author has a good point when advocating for more statistics education. I just don't think algebra is useless.
|
On March 29 2016 06:03 Plansix wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2016 05:55 GreenHorizons wrote:On March 29 2016 05:51 Acrofales wrote:On March 29 2016 05:43 GreenHorizons wrote:Besides the public hearing exposing willful violations of state election law by the SoS (and that many ballots are yet to be counted), we also got Hillary saying Bernie is too mean to her for her to debate him... And she's supposed to be ready for Trump? Laughable. And of course no one contradicts Hillary as well as Hillary does. https://twitter.com/PittsBern/status/714535203125985281 I think I finally found a picture of GH on the internets: Really, this is what you've resorted to? I suppose with no legitimate contention, posting random pictures is what we're doing here now. On March 29 2016 05:52 Plansix wrote:On March 29 2016 05:49 GreenHorizons wrote:On March 29 2016 05:47 Plansix wrote:
Only in the world of GH could a public request for Sanders to stop running negative ads in exchange for another debate be seen as “he is to mean.”
That is politics. Sanders wants another debate, which means he is asking for something. He needs to offer something in return.
He's only asking that it be in NY. Everyone involved agreed to the debate a long time ago. But go on desperately spinning the story by misrepresenting the truth. You are correct, I thought it was a new debate. But now he wants it in NYC and that wasn't agreed to yet. So he publicly asks for it and he gets the public response. That is how the process works. If he wants to set the place and time to exactly what he wants, he needs to offer Clinton a reason to agree to that. You can't even be honest when you're admitting you're wrong... The "time" was set by the DNC not a demand of Sanders. He's saying he doesn't see a good reason for it not to be in NY and Hillary hasn't provided that or an alternative location. I said I was wrong and you are correct. Sorry if that wasn’t enough for you. Sanders want something. He can either make it worth Clinton’s time or not. That is how politics work. You seem to be confused on the process, but when people make public requests like this, its to back the other side into responding. Normally this stuff is set up via agreement, away from the spot light. Sanders doing this is a clear play for him to try to get a favorable venue and there is no reason for Clinton to agree when the DNC normally sets the location. I can think of a boat load of reasons for it not to be in NYC, including, traffic and security. Mostly security.
And still can't be honest... You said Sanders wants to set a specific time and place. We covered why the time part isn't honest, now the place. Sanders isn't demanding it be in NYC just requesting it be in NY state somewhere. This isn't new either he's been saying this since voting started it was part of the previous negotiations on Flint/NH too.
You're spinning hard still by pointing at traffic/security as being a potential reason Hillary is trying to dodge this debate.
|
On March 29 2016 06:00 cLutZ wrote:Sometimes, you forget how insane people really are: Kids are failing, so lets lower standards!Show nested quote +NEW YORK (AP) — Who needs algebra?
That question muttered by many a frustrated student over the years has become a vigorous debate among American educators, sparked by a provocative new book that argues required algebra has become an unnecessary stumbling block that forces millions to drop out of high school or college.
"One out of 5 young Americans does not graduate from high school. This is one of the worst records in the developed world. Why? The chief academic reason is they failed ninth-grade algebra," said political scientist Andrew Hacker, author of "The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions."
Hacker, a professor emeritus at Queens College, argues that, at most, only 5 percent of jobs make use of algebra and other advanced math courses. He favors a curriculum that focuses more on statistics and basic numbers sense and less on (y - 3)2 = 4y - 12.
"Will algebra help you understand the federal budget?" he asked.
Many U.S. educators, including the architects of the Common Core standards, disagree, saying math just needs to be taught more effectively. It's fine for students to have quantitative skills, they say, but algebra is important, too.
"Every study I've ever seen of workers in whole bunches of fields shows that you have to understand formulas, you have to understand relationships," said Philip Uri Treisman, a professor of mathematics and of public affairs at the University of Texas. "Algebra is the tool for consolidating your knowledge of arithmetic."
Bill McCallum, a professor at the University of Arizona who played a lead role in developing the Common Core standards for math, said he would oppose any division of K-12 students into an algebra track and a non-algebra track.
"You might say only a certain percentage of kids will go on to use algebra, but we don't know which kids those are," he said.
In New York City, home to the nation's largest public school system with 1.1 million pupils, just 52 percent of the students who took last year's statewide Regents test in Algebra I passed, mirroring statistics elsewhere in the country.
Rather than scaling back on algebra, New York City educators have announced an "Algebra for All" initiative that aims to keep students on track by providing specialized math teachers in fifth grade, before algebra is introduced.
"We believe in high standards," said Carol Mosesson-Teig, director of mathematics for the city Department of Education. "And we believe that the best way to serve the students is to strengthen the instruction."
Eighteen-year-old Isaiah Aristy took the algebra Regents test twice and failed it both times.
Aristy, now a freshman at the Borough of Manhattan Community College who is hoping for a career in law enforcement, said he was good at math until he hit algebra.
"When it came to x and y and graphing, that's when I started dropping, and it made me feel low," he said. "But we don't need to learn what x and y is. When in life are we going to write on paper, 'X and y needs to be this?'"
Like millions of community college students across the U.S., Aristy must pass a remedial math class with no college credit, and then pass at least one college-level math class, if he wants to get an associate's degree.
But Aristy isn't just repeating Algebra I again. BMCC is one of about 50 community colleges in 14 state that offer an alternative track called Quantway, developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, that seeks to develop quantitative literacy.
"It includes some basic algebra concepts, but you don't learn how to factor polynomials or solve complex equations," said math department Chairman Fred Peskoff.
Project director Karon Klipple said the foundation devised Quantway and a statistics track called Statway in 2011 because of the sheer numbers of students dropping out of community college due to algebra. Sixty to 80 percent of community college students nationwide test into remedial math, and most don't pass it, she said.
"This is where their hopes and aspirations go to die," Klipple said. "They're in college to try to make a better life for themselves, and they're stopped by mathematics."
I wholeheartedly support this movement.
Make kids dumber so they wouldn't replace me 15 year down the line. Job security for life! #codingmonkeyisanendengeredspecies
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
