I understand that they are standards.  I believe standards are a good thing.

What concerns me that as of yet no one had defined the goals of our public education system.  What do we think that every student in the United States should be able to do by the time they graduate?

Let’s take math.  Most school require at least four years of math. So are we talking about Year One is addition, Year Two is subtraction, Year Three is multiplication, and Year Four is division.  Seems like an awful long time to learn four skills.

Does everyone need algebra, trig, geometry, solid geometry, calculus, etc.?  I have justified algebra to all students by showing how it teaches logic and how I have used it in remodeling my house.  But a whole year?  And how do you justify graphing, x and y axis, and slope and slant?  I’m seventy-one years old, a college graduate and a teacher, and I have never found a practical use.

I can justify geometry for all students by showing students how to figure out how much paint they need for their room, car or bike.  But a whole year?  And how do you justify points, and lines, and tangents, and segments?I’m seventy-one years old, a college graduate and a teacher, and I have never found a practical use.

I took trig and calc and geometry and got my “A” but haven’t thought about them on a personal level other than when I have seen my students struggling.

So, my question to you is what should be our goal for every student when it comes to math?  Please share the question with everyone and share their responses.  There are a lot of frustrated students, parents and taxpayers wondering the same thing.