Up for Debate: If math isn’t needed, it shouldn’t be required

Some students are fed up with taking math courses when their major has nothing to do with math.

From a student’s viewpoint, math should not be required for all majors.

History, journalism, art and et cetera are majors that not require you to know math.

None of these majors will ever solve a quaradratic formula or even what pi is.

Math formulas will never be included the next time a writer will edit or publish an article. The same goes for an artist the next time they create a piece of artwork.

Math courses should not be required if it does absolutely nothing for the student’s major. Algebraic formulas to probability is essientially something students will not use in the future. Students are expected to excel in math skills they will probably never be asked to solve when they get a job.

About 1.7 million students nationwide take remedial classes according to an article from huffingpost.com. Students who do not pass the placement test at their community college will take remedial classes in order to take the transferable course.

Students can save time and money if math courses were not required for their major. Most students who take remedial classes are not only wasting time, but are spending more money. Taking non-transferable classes will slow the process of transferring.

The report authors say the estimate for the annual cost of providing remedial courses range from $1 billion to $4 billion, according to article from washingtonpost.com.

However, students are expected to pass and afford their math classes. Taking remedial courses is another way of taking money out of students pockets.

College can be expensive, so it is hard to take courses that ultimately have nothing to do with the students’ majors. It would be much more beneficial, if students focused their two years in their major, not so much in their general courses like math. It would be easier to spend money focusing on the student’s skills required for the job field they’d like to enter.

Students will be able to graduate sooner if they don’t have to take something that doesn’t involve their major. College should be about time focused on skills that students will need for the rest of their lives instead of stressing about the next grade on their math test.