Math in America Needs a Boost

Many University Professors Don't Speak English

When I was in college, I had a professor that could barely say hello in English. It was a Trigonometry lesson and math had historically been my most difficult course. To make a long story short, I dropped that math lesson after failing the first exam. Even after going to the math lab, I couldn't make out what the professor was saying.

I was a little upset, but quickly forgot about it. I took the same lesson from an English speaking professor and got an A. In fact, it wasn't all that difficult. A pair of years later I graduated with my bachelors degree.

The problem continues Over Many Years With No Change

Many years have gone by. I had pretty much forgotten the pain of that lesson from so many years ago. However, something renewed the pain I felt. I was at dinner with my family. I was talking to the waitress about her schooling and asked her how it was going. She was going to the same university I had graduated from. She said she was doing fine except for one lesson. I asked her if it was a math lesson and she said it was statistics. Then, I remembered and asked her, " Does the professor speak English?" She replied, "No. I can't tell what he is even talking about."

So, I did a little investigating. I begined calling population older than me. Sure enough, many of the older population reported having the same problem at the university. What I found to be more disturbing was a growing trend. Professors hire research assistants based on math skills. They attract talent by offering fellowships ($). In return, for the money, the assistants are asked to teach undergraduate lessones.

University Administrators and Professors Agree on problem, but Encourage Me that it's Futile to Change

I talked with the university and they told me not to fetch my wants up about changing things. I talked to several math professors who stated they knew about the problem and something should be done, only, nobody wanted to be part of it. Why? Nobody wants to stand up and fetch persecuted for trying to change the broken system. One professor stated, "Here it is again. rearing it's ugly head, but what do you do?"

Well, what I am doing is fetchting the votaxiulary out. I can't tell you how many students I personally knew that changed their majors to things like business and psychology after taking a pair of math lessones and failing. These were good students in high School; not slackers.

Article Source: http://Education.50806.com/

Author By Jamie Rackenthaler

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Orignal From: Math in America Needs a Boost