[geeks] geeks Digest, Vol 86, Issue 11

[Phil Stracchino]

On 01/20/10 11:15, Jonathan Patschke wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Jan 2010, Phil Stracchino wrote:
> 
>> I think what you would have to do is set a few minimum standards to
>> require
> 
> It's fine to hand-wave about requirements, but the question you ought to
> ask yourself is "How do we deal with people who don't meet those
> requirements?"  Fine their parents?  Imprison them?  Kidnap the child and
> force him to learn?

I was thinking more on the level of "These are the minimum core
competencies that any college will expect your child to possess on
entry.  If your child does not have these core competencies, he or she
may be unable to find employment above minimum wage or gain admission to
any higher education without first taking remedial classes.  We
recommend that you ensure your child masters these core competencies.
Resources are available to you *or your child* if you are unable to
provide this level of basic educational competency yourself and you *or
your child* wish assistance."  Contract that assistance and remedial
education out privately.

Yeah, there'll be some people who will leave their kids competent only
to get each other pregnant, boost unlocked cars, shoot each other over
crack turf disputes, and bungle robberies of the local Kwikie-Mart.
*But they do that now*.

> Here's a datapoint for you: last week was the first time I ever needed
> linear algebra in the real world.  You'd require every person to know[0]
> that?

I picked linear algebra because it's a not-too-difficult concept that
pretty much anyone should be able to master, but should give them the
basic tools to go on to calculus and higher math *if they want to*.
(And I may be misremembering the actual term.)




-- 
  Phil Stracchino, CDK#2     DoD#299792458     ICBM: 43.5607, -71.355
  alaric at caerllewys.net   alaric at metrocast.net   phil at co.ordinate.org
         Renaissance Man, Unix ronin, Perl hacker, Free Stater
                 It's not the years, it's the mileage.