EDUCATION: Key to better future
This generation of students will be faced with an obscene national debt and fewer industrial jobs as a result of computer operated machines and robotics, corporations that send jobs overseas, and a very competitive world economy. Robots will replace assembly line laborers at a rate of 5 percent each year over the next 5 to 10 years; that may be a conservative estimate.
We are becoming a stale, apathetic society that takes the future for granted. We need the zeal of our immigrant ancestors. Too few parents are deeply involved in establishing effective high school or college curriculums for their children. Expanding high school studies in mathematics, science and technical fields will help; but, only if there is as much emphasis placed on scholarships and grants for excellence in these fields of study as there is on sports.
Our education system needs to be revamped. All students do not have the aptitude or funds necessary to be computer programmers or a laboratory scientist, but all need to have a thorough understanding of basic algebra, geometry, trigonometry and physics. Without these basic skills, the graduate student will be destined to menial, low-paying jobs. Differential equations, calculus and advanced computer science should be available for those who have the funds necessary to pursue college degrees.
The following opinions are based on empirical observations made as an instructor in the Air Force, and evening instruction of junior engineers and line superintendents of a major aerospace contractor: School teaching periods need to be adjusted to allow more time for intense courses. Mathematics classes should allow a minimum of 10 minutes for review, one hour of instruction and 20 or more minutes for in-school applications of the subject of the day. The extra time would allow the instructor to observe whether all of the class understands the day’s outline.
In a class of 25 to 30 math students, 10 to 15 percent of the class will demonstrate blank or bewildered facial expressions sometime during the instructor’s presentation. If the instructor proceeds without addressing these obvious signs, the bewildered students will not keep up with the class and eventually fail, or at best, barely pass the course. In-class study assignments should follow the instructor’s formal presentation and homework should still be required.
Many modern parents do not have the time or the knowledge necessary to help their children learn modern math, so it is imperative the students understand the basic philosophy of the subject before leaving school each day.
LEONARD BRANT
Rathdrum