Dear TB-ers, An interesting statement on the state of education and on college curricula. I agree more with the comments made at the end of the article than with the author's point of view. Just because students have trouble with a topic or it doesn't appear relevant doesn't mean we should drop it. I had to memorize the kings and queens of England from William the Conqueror to QE II. I can't say this has really come in handy after the exam. Could we drop that and all those dates of wars from the curriculum? Perhaps a discussion point for a meeting this semester. Dr. Jennifer Withington Asst. Professor of Biology SUNY Oneonta 116 Science I Oneonta, NY 13820 607-436-3421 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html Is Algebra Necessary? <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html?emc=eta1> A TYPICAL American school day finds some six million high school students and two million college freshmen struggling with algebra. In both high school and college, all too many students are expected to fail. Why do we subject American students to this ordeal? I've found myself moving toward the strong view that we shouldn't............ Advertisement RUBY SPARKS From the directors of 'Little Miss Sunshine', starring Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, & Annette Bening. Watch the Trailer [http://graphics8.nytimes.com/adx/images/ADS/30/71/ad.307146/RUBYSPARKS_120x60_NP_7.25.gif]<http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/mem/emailthis.html&pos=Center1&sn2=61a932e9/f76e0495&sn1=1c79378b/81d3eb5a&camp=FSL2012_ArticleTools_120x60_1787508d_nyt5&ad=RubySparks_June25_120x60_wText&goto=http://www.foxsearchlight.com/rubysparks> Copyright 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html> The New York Times Company<http://www.nytco.com/> | Privacy Policy<http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/privacy.html> [http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_remote.html?type=noscript&page=emailthis.nytimes.com/openrate&posall=Bottom1&pos=Bottom1&query=qstring&keywords=]