It Was My Understanding There Would Be No Algebra 2

The classic "When will I ever actually use any of this math?" complaint has one universal answer: when it comes to college admissions and Algebra 2.

A mathematics lecture, apparently about linear algebra (calculation of eigenvalues and engine vectors), at Helsinki University of Technology (HUT). Photo by Tungsten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It was not like Jeannie Brown did not try.

An exceptional educator that was saddled with students, particularly of the teenage male cohort, who had no interest whatsoever in studying the higher functions and particular intricacies of mathematics, especially algebra. By some machinations and academic dealings that I have no knowledge of, I took my Algebra I, Geometry, and two dropped attempts at Algebra 2 record to a high school diploma, did not ask questions, and moved on. Like most students, “when will I ever need to use this” was a frequent complaint/observation/criticism of why any teenager should care about finding x, the value of y, or how it related to z. Which made college brutal since I once again had to do math, and since I did not learn it before it was an even steeper hill.

I hated math. When was I ever going to need to use this stuff? If I ever see Archimedes in the next life I’m going to fold him like laundry on general principle.

I was wrong, of course, as all kids who utter the “when will I ever need to use this” about mathematics. While still loathing bookwork, academic math, my career path taught me to really love, appreciate, and enjoy statics, analytics, and modeling of data, all things that have new digital spins and applications based on very old mathematical principles. Even as a box kicker and stocker at Walmart after my first disastrous attempt at college went sideways, there was math in getting my work done. Turns out things like weight and balance calculations when loading aircraft and exact dimensions and detailed technical instructions when building airdrop platforms and rigging parachutes was something both math and the military demanded to keep people alive. God help you in middle management if you cannot get formulas into an Excel sheet, which I quickly learned to master so I did not have to spend any more time than absolutely necessary on it.

Math, math, more math. You cannot escape math. Math is the giant rock to your running Indiana Jones just wanting to get the idol out of the temple, and algebra is Belloq waiting to take the idol from you just when you think you have escaped the curse of Archimedes, but didn’t.

These things culminated some years ago when I was out to eat in my hometown, saw Mrs. Brown at another table, and after hugs and catching up was able to proudly and truthfully tell her that I had recently, finally, passed college level algebra for some online classes I was taking, since my prior course work and study I’d been able to dink and dunk with “Principle of Mathematics” or “Elements of Mathematics, the rather fun “Quantitative Reasoning” and “Introductory Statistics” and the ever popular “Mathematics for Liberal Arts.” That last one I took twice at two different institutions since it would not transfer as part of the academic scheme to make me take more algebra; but I saw their snare trap, dug into the course completion requirements, and adjusted accordingly.

I was 37 years old at that time of that chance encounter with the Ghosts of Mathematics past. Feeling a mix of shame and pride at the 20 years of Mrs. Brown being right, finally telling her I did do what she said I could do if I just tried a bit, and foolish me who should have believed her the first time.

The University of California system is debating the admission requirements version of “when will you need this math,” especially as it relates to the traditional breakpoint of high school Algebra 2.

From the LA Times:

At issue is whether high school students can apply to UC if they have taken a data science course in place of Algebra 2, the traditional third year of high school math schools required of all applicants. Algebra 2 is more abstract than data science, a form of applied mathematics that combines math, statistics, and other tools to provide a wide range of useful information for many professional careers. That could include predicting side effects to medication, consumer buying trends or matching couples on dating apps.

UC first approved a data science course offered by the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2013 as a substitute for Algebra 2. Other school districts followed suit, adopting data science courses that are popular among students who find mathematical theory too difficult. The expansion to data science was seen as an equity move for Black and Latino students who have excellent academic records but were being kept from four-year colleges by not having taken Algebra 2. It also was a requirement for California State University, which follows UC standards.

UC faculty found, though, that the three most popular data science courses in the state, including LAUSD’s, were too lacking in Algebra 2 or other higher math skills to qualify as a third year of college-prep math. Last week, the Board of Regents agreed to go along with the faculty findings, which means these three data science courses no longer would qualify. (It appears a few data science courses taught at specific schools will continue to be allowed.)

But the reason UC professors have given for rejecting the courses is odd: Even though students might not be planning to enter STEM fields when they begin college, many of them change their minds later. Algebra 2 is a prerequisite for those studies.

As much as I hate math as a student, I do not think UC is wrong here to be reviewing and thinking about the Algebra 2 requirement. The old complaint of “when are you going to use this math” can be productively applied here as a bit of a litmus test, a term you learn about in Chemistry, another college course I have avoided like the plague. If the requirement is only for admission but not needed for the actual chosen course path, the requirement is more gatekeeping than productive. The “they might change their minds” is rather weak sauce for an academic institution that could readily mandate a course or two of mathematics as a requirement for those changing majors to a math heavy field of study.

I do think UC is right that even in the school systems offering alternative math courses, higher math like algebra underpins so much of the technology that everyday usage of advanced mathematics – or at least the principles thereof – is probably higher than ever before. What is needed long-term here is secondary-level math courses that are designed with the modern world in mind. A non-STEM curious junior or senior in high school may very well not need Algebra 2, but designing a social media-era “Principle of Mathematics” that slides in plenty of higher-level math to explain those algorithms which increasingly dictate information and life to teens and young adults would be sensible bridge both academically and practically.

Mathematics – particularly higher level mathematics like advanced algebra, calculus, trigonometry, and such – inarguably has many applications to the modern world, perhaps more so than ever before. What needs to change and update a bit is the interpretation of who needs what math for what reason. In that there should be some flexibility, beyond just “if they can’t pass Algebra they don’t belong in college” yelling at clouds gatekeeping that helps no one. If the point is to get more students taking higher-level mathematics, the smart thing to do is to make sure there are a few more steps leading up to the haughty temple of numbers in the Groves of Academe for students to work their way up.

To be fair to the modern students, they have things to deal with Archimedes never did. Such as if it takes twenty-three selfies to get the light just using nine different filters, and the clip photos for IG taken from the video made for TikTok, what was the ratio of time spent to platform audiences reached to maximize engagement, and so forth. But Archimedes should not post that white toga until after Memorial Day unless he wants a lesson in exponential multiplication of comments and replies, or at all unless he wants to be accused of much worse.

If all that confused you, just understand to the teens and young adults pipelining into higher education right now, that kind of math is the new 2+2=4 to them.

See there, math can be practical as can be.