Algebra, and how I don't use it

That's a lie.  I know I use algebra every day of my life, because I often break down recipes, cross-stitch and even figure out strange word problems involving how fast my car is going, how many miles I have to go, and how long it will take me to go them.  If I'm using cruise control on a highway, it's practically an obsession.  I can't tell you how many hours I passed doing this going to and from college on a boring stretch of road between Chicagoland and the armpit of America.  However.  This makes me really, really uncomfortable.

I'm not even really sure why.  That's a lie; I know why.  S (and I hope he doesn't hate me for saying this) failed algebra once in high school, and then only passed the second time because the teacher took pity on him.  Now, S went to class.  He was tutored.  He was pushed and prodded by parents who thought that it was VERY important that he pass math class.  And he still would have failed.  S hasn't gone to college, either, and I think part of the argument here is that without algebra, you may not go on to college.  And that can be bad, I can't deny that.

However, and I feel this very, very strongly, college is NOT for everyone.  There are people who chafe against the demands, chafe against the rigid ways in which people are expected to learn.  And unfortunately, I don't think our system is going to change any time soon.  Does this make them bad people?  No.  Does this make them uneducated people?  Well, yes and no.  Not everyone who doesn't go to college lacks an education.  I'm sorry, but there is something to be said for being self-taught.  There is something to be said for the idea that math can be practical only, as it applies to your life.  Not everyone desires to be a scientist or an engineer.  It's nice when people want to do that, but many, many people do not.  It enrages me that these people, with their blinders on, fail to see the gray areas involved in education.

Some of what these people are saying is right.  The educational system is failing, and it's failing because we refuse to accept that people do not all process and use information the same ways.  Carpenters may use algebra every day, but I bet if you asked most of them, they'd deny it.  The quest for knowledge is important, and no one loves learning more than me.  No one believes more that more education and more knowledge is the way to a better society.  But that doesn't change the fact that not everyone reveres knowledge, and it also doesn't change the fact that if everyone was allowed to live in their heads like we allow scholars to, nothing (selling you books, making your coffee at Starbucks, fixing your car, painting your house, building your house, paving the roads, etc etc) would EVER get done, because we'd all be scientists.  I'm exaggerating, but I think what's happening here is that AMERICA doesn't value every job in society.  We simply don't.  We don't think that the person who rings up our meal at Panera is as important as the guy in the dentist's office fixing our teeth.  And in some ways, they're not equal positions. 

But we have to remember that we still want to buy things from Panera.  We still need people to serve, to be in service industries, and though algebra is probably used unconsciously, and often, in service industries, I guaran-fucking-tee it that most of those people have no idea they're using algebra.  And who cares?  Who really cares?  Are they able to do their jobs?  Are we satisfied with the job they're doing?  Do we want that job?  I just think what's happening is we're looking down our noses at people who do these jobs, and we're insisting that the only jobs/people who have value are the ones that involve rigorous education and knowledge.  These people disappear to us, because they haven't chosen a life in pursuit of knowledge.  Listen, we can't have everyone doing the same things.  High school should prepare you for a practical life, as well as an intellectual life.  And I'm not saying that we shouldn't require people to pass algebra.  I think it's a pretty useful thing, in the long run.  But I am saying that we are losing our heads when we insist EVERYONE be taught as if they're going to college.  We're failing them if we're boxing them into the "must-go-to-college" path. 

I can't tell you how strongly I feel about this.  High school can and should be both vocational and intellectual.  This may seem like an anti-intellectual position, but it's not.  I really don't know what else I can say about this. 

Comments

[JZ]

I couldn't agree with you more. So many educated people think that their way is always the right way but ask them to fix the leaky sink or change the oil in their car. I bet they would be lost.

[C]

Nicely said!

I think we need to value ALL people and all jobs. Does that mean that they all have to get paid the same way? No, however our service jobs deserve a living wage, in which they get good benefits and the ability to support themselves and any dependents --- above the poverty line.

[Yalie]

How about vocational, intellectual and *artistic*?! S's photo's are AMAZING - and that is a "vocation" I'm sure he wasn't given an opportunity to work a lot on in school. Artists are just as valid and necessary part of society as mechanics and scientists - and I don't think the arts are given a priority in education either.

[Jeff]

Great post -- I'm in complete agreement with your argument.

I wanted to comment to come to the defense of Richard Cohen, who is a great and sensible writer. (I'm assuming it's the same Rich Cohen who wrote "Lake Effect," one of my favorite books. Definitely worth a read -- it's a memoir about growing up in Chicago and his college experience in New Orleans.)

He comes off as extreme in that criticism you linked because of how selective the blogger was. But in reality, Cohen makes a decent point. The generic requirements for high school graduation can stifle the higher education pursuits of the non-math inclined and unnecessarily block other career pursuits. It's not to say that high school shouldn't be a collection of many subjects so as to promote a diverse education. But sometimes a person like Gabriela slips through the cracks.

That's life, I suppose. But that doesn't make Cohen wrong or an "advocate for ignorance."