Position: Mathematics education is severely misdirected and over-emphasised in convertional Western high school curricula. Most high school students should learn far less mathematics, but should focus on learning a broader range of subjects, and learning them better. Students who show an aptitude may be streamed into more intensive courses to prepare them for mathematics-requiring future careers, but mainstream and disinterested students should not be going anywhere nearly as deeply into calculus or algebra, and instead becoming familiar with introductory group theory, graph theory, topology, number theory, mathematical logic, etc. Statistics should also be more prominent but with a focus less on techniques and more on real world use and misuse.
Drive-by voters, please note: This is a topic for discussion. Please indicate your interest in hearing this discussed at the next meetup, not your current agreement.
Position: Mathematics education is severely misdirected and over-emphasised in convertional Western high school curricula. Most high school students should learn far less mathematics, but should focus on learning a broader range of subjects, and learning them better. Students who show an aptitude may be streamed into more intensive courses to prepare them for mathematics-requiring future careers, but mainstream and disinterested students should not be going anywhere nearly as deeply into calculus or algebra, and instead becoming familiar with introductory group theory, graph theory, topology, number theory, mathematical logic, etc. Statistics should also be more prominent but with a focus less on techniques and more on real world use and misuse.
Drive-by voters, please note: This is a topic for discussion. Please indicate your interest in hearing this discussed at the next meetup, not your current agreement.