Xi Jinping laughing his butt off.
California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
81–90 of 748 posts
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
in this timeline, we are all Harrison Bergeron.
Both policies were an elaborate dance to avoid the reality that different kids have different needs and abilities.
Germany solved this by past 4 years of primary school having three different advanced schools that prepare for different types of careers and that have different durations. That's in addition to having AP classes towards the end. It has the downside that it disadvantages late developing children, but there are also ways to continue at the higher schools if you do really well. Making the jump is harder though.
I think this is a decent trade-off between going slower for some kids and holding others back who could go faster and more advanced.
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems entirely arbitrary (if not false?). I was taught the basics of algebra and even trig (at least, how pi and radians work) in the 4th and 5th grade
Yes, but I'm talking about what works well for the average student, not just math whizs who post on HN.
I went to a normal public school in a rural area. I am also not very good at maths ;)
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#84Well that's stupid. If anything they should introduce it sooner. There's tons of research that show the sooner it's introduced the better they are able to digest that (as in it becomes more second nature and are later able to reason with it and build off that knowledge better).
It's hard to introduce Algebra much earlier than 8th grade - the students just don't have the mathematical maturity for it. What you can do though is challenge and expose them to slightly more complex applications of ordinary math (often stated via increasingly elaborate "word problems") that make the introduction of algebra a lot more natural when the students are finally up for it. You tend to see this approach in…
We were introduced to algebra in 6th grade. Talking about Indian subcontinent in the 90s. I (and a lot other kids) did fine with it. Well there were many that didn't and they switched to humanities or business studies later. But even if lives are not good at math, they should be taught math. Doing otherwise is how they grow up to become conspiracy theorists.
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#85i think a better approach would be more things like after school robotics programs and outreach to try and recruit historically underrepresented groups into them.
not only do they provide additional space for engagement in a healthy environment, they also provide something that was always important for me when i was younger, longer goals or projects that learning lands in the critical path for.
problem sets are pretty boring, especially grade school calculations, i always needed a carrot to do boring things.
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#86Well that's stupid. If anything they should introduce it sooner. There's tons of research that show the sooner it's introduced the better they are able to digest that (as in it becomes more second nature and are later able to reason with it and build off that knowledge better).
It's hard to introduce Algebra much earlier than 8th grade - the students just don't have the mathematical maturity for it. What you can do though is challenge and expose them to slightly more complex applications of ordinary math (often stated via increasingly elaborate "word problems") that make the introduction of algebra a lot more natural when the students are finally up for it. You tend to see this approach in…
I, along with 30 other kids in my grade, took our first algebra class in 7th grade (early 90s). After a few weeks of struggling, I was entirely fine with it. I really think you're underestimating what kids can do if taught properly. If students don't have the "mathematical maturity" for algebra until 8th grade, or later, then that just means instruction in prior years was lacking.
Not everyone took algebra in 7th grade; those who did not, took it in 8th grade.
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#87What age is ninth grade? We were doing Algebra by eleven.
In a US public school, I was doing very basic algebra— math with variables— in 6th grade, which is around age 11. The class called 'Algebra' in the US school system, which this article references, is a subset of what Algebra actually is on a whole. Very basic algebra before high school (which starts at grade 9, or age 14/15) is often called pre-algebra.
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#88I immigrated from India after high school and we had already studied advanced calculus and other subjects by high school. Basic Calculus was introduced in grade 9 onwards if I remember right. When I immigrated for university to Canada, I was teaching algebra, trig, calculus etc to university students 1 year above me.
All these delaying important subjects is going to let immigrants from other countries like India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc excel while Canadians and Americans to fall behind. This is a stupid idea.
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#89It’s the official shift from “we can lift everyone up” to “we need to hold everyone down”. It wasn’t that long ago the California was touting the success of Algebra for everyone in 8th grade.
> It’s the official shift from “we can lift everyone up” to “we need to hold everyone down”.
No, its based on empirical evidence that the way things were done previously holds everyone down, and they should be done differently if you want to lift everyone up.
Educational approaches are technologies, and old familiar technologies are, often, just not as good at their purpose as newer ones.
Re: California moves to recommend delaying algebra to 9th grade statewide
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
Second grade in Poland I remember problems like this when learning addition and subtraction: 3 + ? = 10 10 - ? = 3
Yup, even 2x2 systems of equations. This stuff isn't hard, I don't get what the folks in the US are thinking.
They're thinking that teaching people stuff is promoting a diversity of outcomes, which is anathema at the moment.
Diversity is supposed to only extend as far as categories one mustn't use to discriminate (age, race, sex, religion, etc.). If it occurs in other areas (achievement level, ability in particular subjects) ... oooh that's bad. Must make it stop.