As I mentioned before, I took part in a panel discussion on women in science and math last week. One of the issues that came up in the discussion was the importance of requiring math and science courses, at least through high school, and perhaps into college. The argument was that as long as technical subjects were seen as “hard” and “uncool”, many kids would avoid them even if they had aptitude, and often even if they had interest. This means they come out of their “awkward teenage years” underprepared for and underexposed to science and math, often ensuring that they don’t pursue these subjects any farther later in life.
The situation in the U.S., where math and science requirements are often minimal at best, was contrasted to that in various parts of Europe and Russia, where everyone was expected to take math up to (and perhaps including) calculus, along with several years of science. The public school I attended in Montevideo, Uruguay, when I was an exchange student back in the late 70’s required everyone to take math (they were doing something like pre-calc), physics, and chemistry, whereas most of my classmates in Texas had stopped taking math and science courses a year or two earlier.
And while this obviously has the potential to hurt all kids, it particularly affects groups who are already stigmatized in this regard. 13 and 14 year-olds who are being bombarded with with idea that math/science is “hard”, that they (or their group) are “not good at it”, and that it’s “boring” or “nerdly” or irrelevant to their future, are then that much more likely to turn away and do other things.
So, do we require more math and science in junior high and high school in the U.S.? If we agree that it’s important, how do we make it happen effectively?
… while making more math and science is tempting – I know I didnt take as much of either in high school as I should have – methinks that creating more relevant, attractive, math work would be a better route than more rote.
BTW, the problem starts in elementary schools, where math and science seem to be the weakest subject for many teachers (says a former substitute teacher).
I had an encounter at a drive up window the other day where three separate people couldnt understand that two $5.95 items do not total more than $13 … And two of these people were probably older than either you or I.
There is much work to do here, but that doesnt mean more Calculus and differential equations …
I think you hit on an important point here, namely that more bad math/science classes almost certainly won’t help the cause. I’d hate to see us use the paucity of wondrous math teachers as a reason not to require more math, however, as that’s a very disempowering position. It does help reinforce the point, however, that it’s a multi-front battle, and one can’t simple pronounce something (like No Child Left Behind) and walk away, assuming that all the rest will magically follow.
Our son was lucky and had pretty solid math and science in elementary school here. As his 7th grade year proceeds, however, It’s clear that things get less clear in the high school. It’ll be interesting to compare his year in Britain next year with what precedes and follows it here in Morris.
I also have some issues with the common “establishment” assumption that The Calculus is somehow the be-all and end-all. Calc is wonderful stuff, and is certainly a mighty powerful tool in many cases, but it’s not something many people are going to use day-to-day. I took buckets of calc in my day (math major and all that), and I almost never use it. Logic, stats, combinatorics I use all the time. Calc, not so much. But that’s probably another post for another day.