Indiana’s “new” standards fail to prepare for STEM
Stanford mathematician James Milgram eloquently warns that Indiana’s new standards won’t prepare students for STEM careers. While the “new” standards added back in some of our former standards such as Trig, Pre-Cal and Calculus, Milgram reveals that the advanced courses “were added to standards that couldn’t support them.”
Milgram states the obvious, you can’t get to Trig or Pre-Cal without the pre-requisite knowledge learned in Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 which is still missing from Indiana’s new Common Core rebranded standards. You can’t get to the top of the math ladder if you’re missing the middle rungs. Milgram relates in his interview that disadvantaged students will suffer the most under this system, as parents with resources can provide this knowledge outside of the school system.
I find it interesting that with lower standards in California, that high school graduates weren’t prepared even for entry level positions in the workforce. I can only draw this conclusion, and that is that it is the purpose of government to create a dependent class of people who need government to provide their basic necessities. The lowering of standards and expectations in education ultimately leads to more government intervention in all areas of life. This also goes to the raising of minimum wage, increased taxes, ultimately to price control, and more government control of business. For me, this is why Common Core needs to go.