OPINION: Our students need up-to-date approaches to math education for a quickly changing world

The calculator has replaced the slide rule. Latin is rarely offered in high school. Sentence diagramming has disappeared from most English classes.

Academic disciplines continually evolve to reflect the latest culture and technology. Why, then, are recent attempts to tinker with the high school math canon eliciting such a backlash? Students deserve a chance to learn up-to-date topics that reflect how mathematics is being used in many fields and industries.

Case in point: the debate over including data science courses as high school math options. Data science courses teach the use of statistical concepts and computer programming to investigate contemporary problems using real-world data sets.

Please help put parents in charge of their child’s education by forwarding this article to other parents, family, friends and voters.
person writing on white paper by Jeswin Thomas is licensed under Unsplash unsplash.com

Other Articles

‘Safe and Supportive Schools Act’ heads to California governor
The bill requires the state Department of Education to develop an online training and delivery platform that promotes LGBTQ+ inclusive classrooms.
Read More
Los Angeles Needs More Early Education Teachers. How About Parents?
Darya Carranza had never thought about becoming a teacher. As a child, she had wanted to do something that would help people; she toyed with the idea of becoming a nurse. But when she heard about a program that would cover the cost of tuition to become an associate teacher at a pre-school, it clicked.
Read More
Is elementary school free in California?
Elementary school is free in California: a basic right for all children
Read More
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS WE TRUST?
For fans of dark comedy, California politics is as good as any entertainment – shot through with grim irony, corrupt politicians, and laughable hypocrisy.
Read More
In California, students with unstable home environments most likely to be sent home from school, new study shows
Across California, foster youth and those experiencing homelessness — are most likely to be sent home through punitive, out-of-school suspensions, new research shows.
Read More
Call for Substitute Teachers Issued in California
Schools throughout California are struggling with teacher shortages. In an effort to help, Swing Education has launched a campaign to recruit substitute teachers so that schools will have enough staff to fill in for teacher vacancies.
Read More
California parents propose making 'high-quality education' a constitutional right
Parents and advocates in California are pushing to make "high-quality education" a constitutional right for students statewide, arguing that the state's public schools have failed to provide that in recent years.
Read More
Substitute teachers’ pay is lacking | Commentary
Imagine that tomorrow morning you will work with people you’ve never met at a place you’ve never been. If you’ve arrived early, you will have approximately 15 minutes to orient yourself. If you need assistance, the name of a small child has been provided.
Read More

Get latest news delivered daily!

We will send you breaking news right to your inbox

© 2025 educationopportunity.org, Privacy Policy | FPPC #1460602