Should Maths be Compulsory? (1 Viewer)

[gouge.away]

it's called general. consumer arithmetic sounds pretty important given the current economic situation with the credit FUBAR etc.

 

[Forbidden.]

It's amazing how poor some people's maths skills are. I'm talking about simple checkout addition. Compulsory maths sounds like a good idea.

yeah.
significant figures.

it's called general. consumer arithmetic sounds pretty important given the current economic situation with the credit FUBAR etc.

nah everyone in year 12 should be able to perform addition and subtraction anyway by now

 

[gouge.away]

yeah.
significant figures.



nah everyone in year 12 should be able to perform addition and subtraction anyway by now

it's more than that. what's the point in earning money if you don't know how to manage or maximise it? and there's no way to know if people actually do know how properly add and subtract or multiply and divide, for that matter.

btw i have a growing enmity for maths, and here i am defending its use.

 

[Evilo]

it's more than that. what's the point in earning money if you don't know how to manage or maximise it? and there's no way to know if people actually do know how properly add and subtract or multiply and divide, for that matter.

btw i have a growing enmity for maths, and here i am defending its use.

+1

Everyday we subconsiously use maths without thinking (no im not going to say "MATHS IS FUN!!!" lol). Even people with relativly low paying jobs will rely on some form of maths or equations (scroll up regarding the example of grounds men). Even though people say "oh general arithmatic is learnt before year 11", you still apply it, and subconsiously use it in more 'practical situations' in the years above.

 

[Julz_09]

I definitely think a very basic level of maths should be compulsory even if it's based on the old maths in society course. Like many people have said we all have to struggle our way through English whether we like it or not. So why don't they make maths compulsory..?

All English has done for me is ruined movies. How many times have you been sitting there watching a movie then find yourself analyzing it !!!!

If it's the lack of staff that's the problem then we always have an excess of PE teachers that are able to teach up to year 10 maths. (this compulsory course would prob be easier than year 10 so there wouldn't be a prob changing things a little so they could teach the course).

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

id prefer it if either both, or neither were. none of this one or the other crap

honestly, if you get to 16-17-18, and haven't obtained the basic foundations of maths to function with work and savings and managing, and english to manage hsc, uni, and work, then you've got no one to blame but yourself, and should elect to take maths/english/lifestyle studies so you can. ive found most of my understanding of math has become increasingly clear since starting a second job as a bar assistant and opening various savings accounts.

 

[nerdsforever]

yes maths should be compulsory. It is useful to life. and for some people in the junior years that just bludge and dont bother to understand any concepts in maths, it is unfair that they can get away with it like that. Mathematics is also about problem solving, and you need it even if you are not going to be doing accounting, money, etc. The ability of problem solving should be assessed because people with the ability to problem solve do better in the future jobs.

yes. I love maths. It should be compulsory. I know what you people are going to say. probably going to say something like, 'Omg! A girl likes maths!' but I like maths more than english. and english sucks. I wish it could just die.

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

you cant really argue for the usefullness of one or the other. they both have fundamentally important concepts and lessons. one the same wave length, they both have totally ridiculous and useless elements and ideas.

entering years 11 into 12, you should have the maturity accept it. you might not like it, but its useful. generally, people who want maths to be compulsory, do it as if it was, even if they dont really like it.
if english was no longer compulsory, people would probably follow a similar pattern.

like it said. both or none in my opinion. make 2 fundamental, life skill based courses compulsory, or neither.

 

[nhoustonrocks]

i reckon that maths should be compulsory to learn in year 12.
but having the option to have maths counted towards the UAI.
same with english.

 

[nrs1990]

I don't think maths should be compulsory. It's not because I don't like the subject -- I'm doing Extension 2 -- but because I don't think that most HSC maths is particularly applicable to day-to-day life.

Maths does teach important things we need to be able to do -- adding, subtracting, figuring out how much things cost, reading the time. But we've learnt most of that well before years 11 and 12. How many people are actually going to use Simpson's rule, or the area of a triangle, or calculus when they've finished school? And won't those people be the ones who do maths anyway?

HSC maths is fun and interesting, but not entirely relevant. I don't think it should be compulsory for the HSC.

 

[nick3157]

no way! i dropped maths halfway through this year. of all my subjects, maths was the most useless; english is more useful, physics is more useful (how sad is that?), pdhpe is more useful, modern histiry is more useful! i have not met a single person who did maths or ext maths who said that its useful. they all forgot eveything as soon as they left school. the only people who should do maths in the HSC are the ones going to do maths at uni. the last useful thing i learned in maths was my 9 times tables and that was in primary school.

 

[AppleNader]

They should be trying to find ways of equipping students with the basic maths they will need to function adequately in society. I'm sure there are wonderful examples of good teaching practice to be found in schools, but the curriculum is very prescriptive and most teachers don't have the time to be creative.

They should be looking at ways of teaching maths skills through other media, such as electronic music and web design, that are more relevant to most students.

 

[bettina44]

in some ways it is already compulsory at my school there used to be so many people who chose maths that it was put onto one line ie.making it compulsory well sort of,some people had to take up maths or otherwise do a tafe course.this year we have maths on two lines only cause there was enough people in yaer who didn't want to do maths

 

[charithjperera]

I think neither maths or english should be compulsory...
We learn sufficient maths and english in year 10 so theres no point in making them compulsory.

If you require the subject for your future OR if you need the units, you would select it. You should be given the responsibility and not told that you need this subject.

 

[bawd]

I think neither maths or english should be compulsory...
We learn sufficient maths and english in year 10 so theres no point in making them compulsory.

If you require the subject for your future OR if you need the units, you would select it. You should be given the responsibility and not told that you need this subject.

I disagree. English and Mathematics are both crucial to an Australian student 's education and you continue to use them even after you leave school. (no matter how much you'd like to argue that Essay writing and Permutations have no relevance to your intended career, it probably does ) English and Mathematics help develop important skills in writing, reading, cogitative thinking, logical deduction, cognitive skills so on and so forth. When you think about it, these skills are required even in basic everyday situations.

Besides we need a subject that can be used as a determinant across the whole State, and what better than to use English, the language in which we use to comprehend other subjects.

 

[charithjperera]

English and Mathematics help develop important skills in writing, reading, cogitative thinking, logical deduction, cognitive skills so on and so forth. When you think about it, these skills are required even in basic everyday situations.

English has close to zero use of your brain, you are spoon fed information that you are expected to write an essay out of (maybe a bit of thinking for this?)... You must then commit this to memory and regurgitate it for the trials and the HSC.
Maths is a cross between logic and memorising formulas, however is is more logic.. It can be useful in life but it should not be made compulsory.

By the time we are in year 11 or 12, we have passes the school certificate and we are definitely capable of reading and writing.

English in my opinion has virtually zero "cogitative thinking, logical deduction, cognitive skills", they are pretty much the only things I can do and the only subjects I can do well at is science.

Besides we need a subject that can be used as a determinant across the whole State, and what better than to use English, the language in which we use to comprehend other subjects.

As I said, you cannot use a subject that focuses on memorising to judge all students...
While students that do social sciences are fine with memorising essays, I simply cannot tolerate it. That is pretty much why I am not doing any social sciences - the essay memorising!

 

[akrinis]

Maths is almost compulsory at my school, well, not really, but you're not given much of a choice, because the only subject that is up against it is Hospitality. So if you happen to dislike both, you'd still have to choose between them, which I think is why most kids, even if they don't want to, will do Maths anyway.

 

[bawd]

English has close to zero use of your brain, you are spoon fed information that you are expected to write an essay out of (maybe a bit of thinking for this?)... You must then commit this to memory and regurgitate it for the trials and the HSC.
Maths is a cross between logic and memorising formulas, however is is more logic.. It can be useful in life but it should not be made compulsory.

By the time we are in year 11 or 12, we have passes the school certificate and we are definitely capable of reading and writing.

English in my opinion has virtually zero "cogitative thinking, logical deduction, cognitive skills", they are pretty much the only things I can do and the only subjects I can do well at is science.

As I said, you cannot use a subject that focuses on memorising to judge all students...
While students that do social sciences are fine with memorising essays, I simply cannot tolerate it. That is pretty much why I am not doing any social sciences - the essay memorising!

English has zero use of your brain? What on earth, says who and who's army?

Besides, your argument employs the principle of Logos (and thus, logical deductive reasoning) to back up your argument, so how can you say english is useless?

Maths is almost compulsory at my school, well, not really, but you're not given much of a choice, because the only subject that is up against it is Hospitality. So if you happen to dislike both, you'd still have to choose between them, which I think is why most kids, even if they don't want to, will do Maths anyway.

lol.

That's just what it's like at our school. They have a whole line with nothing but Mathematics on it and it's written in bold that you must choose two units from this line.

 

[bv]

i dont no if anyone has said this yet i cbf reading the whole thing but the most basic and critical uses of maths are taught before the senior years..
if some cant remember how to work out 10% of $180 by the end of yr 10 they are not gonna remember it after yr 12.

and if ur complaining people who cant add or do simple calculations at the shops they may have been people who didn't go to yr 11 and 12...
english is compulaory coz it helps out in other subjects in riting essays and shit..

seriously i hated people winging they had maths tests and could do it rite throughtout yr7-10 let them drop the stupid subject in yr 11

but for the record english is still gay and we learnt how to rite essays in junior high school...
and maths is better <3

 

[charithjperera]

English has zero use of your brain? What on earth, says who and who's army?

Besides, your argument employs the principle of Logos (and thus, logical deductive reasoning) to back up your argument, so how can you say english is useless?

well not zero, but it doesnt require much thinking either :S
IMO we are given notes with interpretations of texts and stuff and were meant to duplicate them for the exams

I know what im saying is bit over the edge but seriously, english doesnt demand much brainpower

That's just what it's like at our school. They have a whole line with nothing but Mathematics on it and it's written in bold that you must choose two units from this line.

Uhm, same for us... but then a group of students became angry at that and they got the teachers to create a VA lesson in the maths like and everyone that didnt want to do maths went and did that

Edit: how come there is no tongue pointy smiley, thats shocking