Math?

Up for discussion: Why You Should Choose Math in High School.

My point of view: my girls are in the grade school years now, but I want them prepared to study more difficult mathematics in high school, and be ready, if they wish, to study even more advanced mathematics in college. Both of my daughters currently seem afraid of math, but they can both do the work when it is explained to them. Concentration is a problem for them, but that is the case in all of their subjects. The Scientist is already starting to doubt whether she can do the work required to get through veterinary school, and I *do not* want her to have these doubts!!

In my own experience, I believe the teacher I had for the first two years of high school math, Algebra I and Geometry, was not the most effective. When I got a different teacher for Algebra II, I "got" math much better. He actually suggested to my mother during a parent-teacher conference that I might have a future in mathematics as a career. My mother's reply, "She hates math!" Sigh. I did not get the best parental support at home, either. At least my mother showed up for the conference.

I also wonder what on earth I studied through eight years of grade school mathematics that I was not ready to take algebra until high school. It seems that at least some students are starting algebra in the grade school years now. Mathematics in the younger years seems to be a lot of repetition and I'm not sure all students need it.