Today, I met someone who couldn’t do basic Algebra, despite being tutored for another non-math class that requires it. I am well aware of the issues within California’s education system, as I have also grown up under it. However, I also know that in order for people to pass high school and to get into college, they HAVE to pass algebra –at least at the high school level, and once you get to college, algebra. Yet this person couldn’t understand the relations between fractions and division, what a variable’s functions were in an equation, or how to compute it’s value. It baffled me that she actually received a college degree already (Business Major).
I know I can be an asshole oftentimes, but… Well, I guess I’m just an asshole. This has convinced me that if I ever have kids, they will go to public schools to learn some basic social skills, and then when they’re home, I’m going to teach them what they SHOULD know. Playing around? No. That’s for “kids being kids”. I won’t raise “kids to be kids”, they’re supposed to know how to get through life, and as a parent, you should prepare them to get ready for society’s challenges. You’re don’t raise kids to be kids, you raise them so they can be productive adults who can contribute something to society.