Sergey ( 10 years ago )
Yes, group theory and real agblera (not what they call in high school "algebra") is probably going to be too advanced for the average LA high school student.  But how many kids will even be able to recall after they finish high school that the solution to a quadratic equation is "x equals negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared minus four times a times c; divide all that by two times a?"  My father, a civil engineer, required me to know that sort of stuff, but most kids won't recall it and won't need it after high school.    How about summing geometric series, using the binomial theorem, or remembering what they're taught about conic sections in high school agblera?Given that math is the most difficult subject for a lot of students, the question of what math they should teach and who they teach it to in high school is something worth serious debate.  I think we all would agree that a capable student should have the opportunity to pursue higher mathematics if they choose to do so.  But how much of what is taught in high school does an average or below average kid really need to know?  Wouldn't a lot of these kids benefit from a more concrete mathematical regimen emphasizing basic arithmetic skills, solving proportionality problems, elementary pre-calculus statistics and probability theory (of which they current teach very little in high school), and so forth?