No Wrong Answer

As far as school subjects go, I love English, and would never talk bad about it. On another hand, I harbour an unsurprisingly common dislike for mathematics. Nicholson Baker argues against Algebra II specifically in his Harper’s feature “Wrong Answer,” and I agree with his assessment of how far off the mark our modern system is. Baker presents many arguments, all backed up by studies and statistics, each one presenting a more convincing case against the current position of Algebra II than the last. At BHS there are a couple classes which count as English credit towards a high school diploma, but are not what one would call a “traditional” class. Mythology and Film Studies are completely reasonable as English classes, maybe even Backstage Drama, but they are classified as electives. Why isn’t the same thing happening with math? An elective that specializes in a specific area of interest, and still retains its credit value, is what I’d call priceless, especially as a step away from Standardization and towards the Humanization of schools. English being the basis for all of education can’t be argued against, as other courses cannot be taught without a basic understanding of the language of instruction. For that reason, English in schools will most likely never come under the same assaults as mathematics have experienced, and that is just as it should be. Baker uses America’s golden age as an example by stating that “by 1950, at a time when only a quarter of American high school students were taking algebra, the nation’s technological prowess was the envy of the planet” (Baker 38). It’s clear that we were doing something right back then, but have since ceased. Former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s “data-driven education” (38) is nothing but a short-sighted substitute for a real solution. We need student-driven education back.