A calculated response

Andrew Hacker as in a NY Times Sunday Review piece:

Is Algebra Necessary?

I think the answer should be yes.  Although I never had a job that was numbers oriented I have used what I learned in algebra classes regularly all my life.  I have used it when reviewing sophisticated disclosure documents for the sale of bonds to questioning the logic of articles in the NY Times where a writer merely accepted the statement of a source on the benefits of a light bulb rather than  recognizing  the assertion did not add up.  I use it when designing and building custom furniture too.

Hacker talks about the difficulty some students have with algebra.  While I generally did pretty well with the subject in high school and college I can remember a few "word problems" that were stumpers.  I tend to think that was because they were poorly constructed.  But my high school algebra teacher tended to think of the problems as "fun" and conveyed that attitude to students.  The real key comes with designing your own word problems to demonstrate how algebraic principles apply.

I know some people have difficulty learning math.  I recall one woman who got good grades in everything else but could not get through college algebra.  I think she eventually took a Latin course as a substitute.  Frankly, I would rather take algebra.  I suspect there is also a cultural basis for the problems some students have with the subject.  But, the answer should be to change the culture rather than ignoring problem solving skills.