Having math courses be required
to graduate is wrong and it’s not
helpful.
At East Los Angeles College
(ELAC), one of the requirements
needed to graduate is to complete
Math 125 or higher.
These higher levels of math are
usually very complicated and will
serve no purpose to most students
in their everyday lives.
I’m a person who is not the
biggest fan of math; in fact, I
passionately hate math.
It’s the subject I most struggle
with and get stressed the most in.
Most of my hatred for math comes
from the fact that it’s a graduation
requirement.
That means it’s entirely possible
for a student at ELAC to have
completed the required English
course, all their major required
courses and electives, but not be
able to graduate because they can’t
pass the required math class.
Now, if a specific major required
a set of necessary math courses, then
that is one thing.
It makes sense if math courses
are needed for a major in science or
something else along with that category.
That material is going to be
required in those fields.
My problem is that the material in
the level of math ELAC requires me
to take, Math 125, is never going to
be used in my everyday life, nor is it
likely going to be needed in the field
of the major I am taking.
Something that infuriates me even
more is that before 2009, students
entering ELAC only needed Math
115 to graduate.
For students registering after
2009, it was changed from 115 to
an even harder level of math the new
requirement.
That infuriates me, as I could have
already been done with the math
requirement, but unfortunately, I
am not.
Some colleges in California have
different requirements needed for
graduation than what ELAC has.
An example is UC San Diego,
where they require calculus classes
to be completed to graduate or a
natural science class.
So, the requirements will vary
between colleges, but most will
require some completion of math.
Requiring someone to have some
knowledge of basic math isn’t a bad
thing in theory.
It’s reasonable to make sure
a student has at least a basic
understanding of mathematics such
as general addition, subtraction,
and fractions because it is wise to
assume that material will be used
in a person’s everyday life.
However, it ’s entirely
unreasonable for colleges, in
addition to ELAC, to consider these
higher levels of math will be used in
an average everyday life.
The changes I would want to see
made are not only reasonable but are
common sense.
I took Math 110 during my first
semester at ELAC.
I learned the basics of math that
I would reasonably use in my life.
This level should be the bare
minimum level of math college
students need to graduate.
All higher levels should not be
required unless a students major
requires it.
These changes would not only
help students who fail in math, but
it would also relieve the stress from
students who are already stressed
enough with college in general.
This is a change that is desperately
needed.