Looking through the Anoka-Hennepin Registration Guide, bar STEP, I see a total of five half-credit mathematics courses. I will address the STEP issue later. The Language department has 29 half-credit courses with electives like Television Journalism, News Lab, Public Speaking, and Creative Writing. The Science department has 16 half-credit courses, and the Social Studies department has 23. Math is neglected.
None of the half-credit math courses are even “electives” per say. I’ll take a brief moment to define electives. If we think of courses in a department like a tree, then the “core” classes would form the trunk. Electives would be the branches, able to be cut and trimmed without damaging the base.
Without electives, math becomes all work and no play. It centers around core classes with little chance for deviation. Students all follow the single, linear path of algebra into geometry into Algebra II into trigonometry into calculus. One possible deviation is statistics. How boring and bland.
This lack of flexibility effects a restrictive stigma around mathematics. A one credit course requires a half-credit course to go along with it. This results from Anoka-Hennepin’s trimester schedule which leaves one trimester, or half-credit, open for every one credit class taken. Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies all have numerous electives for this slot. Mathematics has four core classes. No electives.
I am disheartened by this view of mathematics. Math is the art of reasoning. As Dr. Lockhart describes it: You have endless choices; there is no reality to get in your way. The problem exists because we do not promote Dr. Lockhart’s image of math; we promote the opposite.
I suggest you add half-credit math electives to promote interest in math through flexible schedules and creative courses.
Possible electives include modular arithmetic, combinatorics, and number theory. These topics showcase the vast world of mathematics. Their basics can easily be taught in one trimester. The Wayzata Math Team masters them in two weeks. I personally learned basic combinatorics within two weeks in our Pre-calculus class. These topics are also deep enough to fill twelve weeks with challenging creative content.
Introducing these courses solves the problem of inflexibility for math courses. Students can choose to take Modular Arithmetic after AP Literature or AP United States History. The one credit commitments of most math classes disappear. Students fascinated by math can sneak additional education into their schedules, and students who are ambivalent might become engrossed in math after taking these curious courses.
AP scholars enjoy these challenging alternatives to easy electives. Students who take one-credit AP courses have no challenging choices besides AP Microeconomics or AP Computer Science, which has a Computer Programming pre-requisite. This results in bright students languishing in classes like Entrepreneurship or Geology.
Offering these courses allows for breadth in mathematics. Students will learn advanced topics aside from conventional calculus.
Modular arithmetic requires only integers, yet it applies to areas of advanced programming. It underpins modern cryptography.
Combinatorics simplifies formidable counting problems with only natural numbers. An example would be, “What is the maximum number of intersections that can be formed by ten lines in the plane?” While difficult to imagine, with combinatorial logic, we arrive at the answer 45.
Number theory promotes interesting yet simple mathematics. Students would recognize patterns like Ulam’s spiral or Sierpinski’s triangle through doodling. Vihart.com provides great examples.
These courses erode the prejudice against math as a banal, monotonous subject. Students will emerge from them as creative thinkers, too.
Course registrations can test my proposal‘s success. If students sign up for these courses, then keep them. Otherwise, remove them.
These courses might seem unnecessary with STEP classes, but STEP classes do not promote interest in math. They cause students to avoid math by allowing them to skip credits in math with other classes. STEP counteracts the purpose of my proposal.
I understand costs can be an issue, but they can be minimized. Some classes overlap, like combinatorics and probability or number theory and modular arithmetic allowing Anoka-Hennepin to teach four courses with two sets of textbooks.
Another problem might be the lack of teachers. Because these courses are basic in scope, most math teachers can teach them. Most math teachers have the credentials to teach these courses, but none are ever asked. Perhaps some teachers even specialize in these areas.
You might fear that the underlying principle is elitist. It is, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Our nation is elitist. Doctors must be the top of their class, with the highest GPAs and MCATs to compete for graduate school. Law school is elitist, requiring the highest LSATs its institutions. Ivy league schools are no different, preferring the students with high ACTs, SATs, and GPAs. Employers are elitist, often choosing the graduates with the highest GPAs. Even high schools are judged based on the achievements of their elite in activities like Math Team, football, or Science Olympiad.
Elitism is looked down upon because people erroneously think of elitism as discriminating against the poor, the blacks or the women. When I say elitism, I mean giving more attention to the intellectual elite in our schools. This type of elitism will foster the talent in our elite students which is exactly what my proposal aims to do.
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