In an op-ed in yeserday's Providence Journal, Ron Wolk, a member of the governor's task force on urban education makes a frighteningly stupid case against the teaching of math. Go read his piece, entitled, "It doesn’t add up: Who needs higher mathematics?" My first thought was this had to be a joke. But if it is, I guess I don't get it. Here's what Mr. Wolk says:

The main reasons students are not learning algebra and geometry is that they don’t really want to. They think higher-order math is irrelevant to their real lives. They can’t imagine that they will ever use algebra and geometry.

I am willing to bet that the majority of Rhode Islanders who graduated from high school have made little, if any, use of algebra or geometry. Most, like me, probably forgot most of what they “learned” before the ink was dry on their diplomas. [...] I can’t think of an instance over the past half-century when I needed algebra or geometry.
— via ProJo

I am literally speechless with anger that a member of a government committee in my state wrote that. What the hell is this guy doing on the Gorvernor's task force? Who let him loose to spew this bullshit in the public prints? But wait, there's more. He goes on to say:
But if we think we will get more kids to become scientists and engineers by force-feeding them algebra in the 8th grade and higher-order math through high school, we are deluding ourselves.

Wolk is deploying this language in support of his position against rigorous standards, which I find nauseating. It is no secret that I am no friend of No Child Left Behind, standardized testing, and the Byzantine results-gaming it has created to march toward the fiction of total proficiency by 2014. But arguing against standards based on the kind of abnegation of responsibility that Wolk goes on advance is completely unacceptable:

Most of these kids end up in the 80 percent who failed the new test. And by insisting that every student be proficient in higher-order math, we are either dooming many of them to failure or forcing them to waste their time memorizing the content necessary to pass a test.

It's rare to find myself in complete agreement with Justin Katz over at Anchor Rising, but here's what he said:

Indeed, considering his inclusion of "analysis" on a list of alternatives to math, it's possible that he truly doesn't realize the value of the algebra that his teachers "force-fed" him. The algebraic approach of assigning abstract variables and assessing their relationship is critical to analysis.
— via Anchor Rising

Katz makes a convincing argument that everyday math is far more valuable to a wide range of professions than Wolk acknowledges, and I recommend you go read his piece. I also owe Katz a hat tip for blogging this first.

But I'm going to take a slightly different tangent: Without an understanding of higher-order math — and unlike Mr. Wolk, by this I clearly mean advanced algebra and calculus — it is impossible to progress beyond a very surface level understanding of either economics or science. Wolk trumpets a "Fortune 500" C-level executive who claims to have never used more than basic math operations. By definition, this amounts to less than 1/500, a sample size whose statistical significance may be lost on someone who confesses they can't "explain the difference between a cosine and a stop sign."

(Remind me again what the hell he's doing on the Governor's task force?)

I submit that Mr. Wolk's knowledge of Fortune 500 companies may be somewhat rusty. The sophisticated operations, supply chain management, and financial controls in place these days require a gaggle of quant jocks to oversee, and CEOs blissfully ignorant of higher math are operating at their peril.

And don't get me started on science. Is Mr. Wolk is really saying that is okay to deny a population of kids any possibility of comprehending molecular biology, electronics, or computing? If America is going to remain competitive in a world economy based increasingly on technology, what possible rationale can there be for throwing up one's hands and uttering half-assed platitudes like "we need to find ways to awaken and nourish a passion for these subjects in elementary school."

The arbitrary standards of NCLB are not the right way to go, but I would submit, Mr. Wolk, that the first step to awakening and nourishing a passion might just possibly be to acknowledge that mathematics has inherent value.

What the hell is Mr. Wolk doing on the Governor's task force? I'm sorry. I know this is an angry post. But I'm mad as hell.

h/t to Anchor Rising.

ps: You want a concrete example of a use for higher math Mr. Wolk? Here -- it's wicked awesome for decorating Easter Eggs.

pps: I am spitting mad.