An Agreement With My Classmate

This sadly is my final post.  It has been a very awesome and informative semester, and I leave having grown substantially in my understanding of how our local and state government operates.

This post is in response to a classmates blog in which he addresses the possibility of Texas removing the Algebra II requirement to graduate high school found here . This is my response:

I absolutely agree with this post!  I think removing the requirement for Algebra 2 will really hurt the youth in the long run more than help it.  The U.S. and specifically Texas already rank depressingly low in math and science education, and this is only gonna make the matter worse.

Sure some people say that you don't use Algebra outside of school, but that isn't entirely true.  Algebra isn't just about formula and numbers... it is about being able to work through a problem given certain parameters, and coming up with the solution regardless if you were given all the information in the beginning.

Taking away this requirement, and allowing high school kids to choose the math course they take is not a good idea.  Most teenagers are lazy, and will choose the path of least resistance instead of learning to push themselves and figuring out how to conquer hard tasks and become better for it.

In an age of over entitlement and brats, kids need to learn early on that life isn't easy, things aren't gonna be handed to you, and you have to work hard for something you want, even if it's something you might not want to do.

An overwhelming majority of students already have to take some sort of remedial math in college before they move on to basic College Algebra, and if this passes, it will only make matter worse.  Instead I feel we should be looking at the problem differently. WHY are so many kids having such a hard time in these classes and what can we do as a community to come together and help our your ( and ourselves) get over this stigma about math?


Speaking of required classes, at first I was pretty irked that I HAD to take this class as a requirement...having grown up in a different state that doesn't require to take a state government class, I though this was pretty dumb.  But now I understand how important it is, and am VERY thankful for what I have learned as I feel a little less helpless to the system.  It is my opinion that every state should require a similar class dealing in their state governments, as it would really help keep people from being ignorant of the change we are capable of making in our communities.  Which is in part the reason why I feel removing the above Algebra II requirement is overall a terribad idea.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!