Actually I take that back. I may choose to brush my teeth today. (If there is ever a Life Choices class, I will be a case study :D)
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Youâve never had use for algebra in your daily life?
When you see a sign that says â3 shirts for $40â and you only want one shirt, do you just throw your arms up in the air and walk away?
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Iâm really glad you used the term ânumerically illiterateâ because thatâs exactly what the fellowâs proposal is about: keeping kids in high school interested in math and making them numerically literate by giving them math courses that relate to everyday life. Not dumbed-down, but more involved in things like statistics, charts, graphs, and data, rather than engineering-focused trig and calc or higher algebra. I would LOVE to have been more numerically literate. I didnât love imaginary numbers.
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No, her ability to write legible numerals was impeccable. Her brogue is what made those numbers on the board unintelligible for my classmates. 
@werdnagreb: No. Youâll likely find many mutants around here who dug calc. Weirdos like me didnât even find it difficult (sorry about breaking that grade curve, folks).
@themadpoet: Goodness, you must be a ball of fun at parties.
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Well, I should specify â sure, doing simple functions like that is helpful. Algebra I is a great course that all kids should go through. Algebra II, not so much. Iâve found no use for quadratic equations when doing my dry cleaning.
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Calculus is not a requirement. Only 18% of HS students ever take calc.
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I was taught some estimating in Jr. High but, weirdly enough, it was in an economics class.
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In 1990 or so, pre-calc was a requirement, which then branched off into either Calculus or Trig as electives. I understand thatâs been revamped since then at my old high school.
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That doesnât make sense: doulas make a few hundred dollars for what can be 24+ straight hours of work.
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Doesnât some ludicrous portion of an OBGYN fee go to malpractice insurance? Or is that just an urban myth?
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I donât call people names either. Well, unless it is a groan worthy pun, but thatâs beside the point.
Trump values his last name at $3billion. The act of taking that power away is not something I do, but I understand it.
A significant number of liberal arts colleges, which require a broad education in multiple areas as well as one or more specializations by graduation.
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To be deliberately numerically illiterate is not something to brag about.
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I have no problems - in general no one I consider a friend has ever told me that one use of my money was morally acceptable and another wasnât.
Telling one guy to stop sending money to Trump is as likely to get you an angry remark about the hookers and blow - so itâs just easier to let people do what they want with their cash. YMMV.
But thatâs not math thatâs just calculation. math proper is being able to prove 1+1=2 not just add 1+1 and get 2 which I can fail at regularly without a calculator but the proof I can do no problem (well could, not sure how much I remember as it was 20 years ago now but I did get an A in that class)
Calculus was cool but unless you are going to go into engineering, physics, or some related field you can probably do without it. Algebra if taught properly can get your brain to think about things in a specific manner and calculus at least for what you learn in the freshman calculus is more about making sure algebra is cemented into your head.
Personally I loved my 300 level math courses so much more than the freshman/sophomore level stuff. All proofs/abstract problems and the only classes that actually had numbers in the homework answers were the numerical methods classes. Advanced Calc which is where you do all the building theory and the fundamental theory of calculus was really fun as well as whatever they call redoing calculus with imaginary numbers. Number Theory is also neat stuff that works up to the fundamental theory of algebra, but do I use any of it to wrangle patch schedules and compliance reports for my day job? No. I do use the logic and problem solving skills I learned doing all the time though.
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No, I loved calculus and found the concepts to be beautiful and enlightening. Whilst initially easy, I reached a point in university where it became harder, but I worked through it. It frustrated me to see people be deliberately stupid when it came to math, because to be clueless was somehow âcoolâ. My 14 year-old son has observed the same thing in his generation.
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I agree. Iâm glad Iâm not! I never said I was numerically illiterate, I said that I had never found a use for Algebra II or trig in my daily professional life as a graphic designer. Geometry? Algebra I? Probability & Statistics? Sure! But I donât find myself doing too many equations while designing album covers.
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âCivic numeracyâ?
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Can you imagine a world where we pushed students into areas they enjoyed and let them avoid the areas they didnât (outside of say a minimum level). Then imagine that we would still allow them to take classes in those things if they wanted on a pure pass/fail basis or even like in college as an audit.
Would you have hated a math class if your academic career wasnât on the line because you were curious and wanted to learn? Would you have taken a chance on a topic that allowed you to bail if it was âover your headâ? Education could be so much more than it is.
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Yes, traditionally, and still in a lot of cases, but it depends on the doula. She works in a pretty well-to-do area of Massachusetts, so the equation is location-specific, and the more popular doulas can fetch quite a price. Brooklyn has a similar dynamic. They do work more hours with the mother, no doubt, so hourly they arenât banking the way the OBGYNs are, for sure, but the overall investment in the one service over the other was her (admittedly hyperbolic) claim.
