Math disaster in college: Would-be STEM majors can’t add 1/2 + 1/3
Joanne Jacobs | Sep 6, 2023 | Joanne Jacobs…
At Temple, the number of students placed into intermediate algebra, the equivalent of ninth-grade math, has nearly doubled, writes Binkley. It’s the lowest option for STEM majors.
In a softball quiz at the start of last year’s fall semester, students were asked to subtract eight from negative six, recalls Jessica Babcock. “I graded a whole bunch of papers in a row. No two papers had the same answer, and none of them were correct.”
“It’s not just that they’re unprepared, they’re almost damaged,” said Brian Rider, Temple’s math chair. “I hate to use that term, but they’re so behind.”
Using calculus I determined they are all behind the 8 ball in various lengths.
As an incentive, the Temple professors remind the hopeless students that Janet Yellen makes $219,200 a year, and she can’t do remedial math either.
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
…the company I work for will sell a lot more parts to those who can’t get their measurements correct the first time…
… and they won’t be able to tell if our parts are to specification either…
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
… the arts and philosophy departments will see a boost in enrollment…
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
… if they end up being accountants, pretty soon there will be no more budget problems anywhere…
. . . the IRS is hiring. Bonus if you can’t understand the tax code either.
. . . they can get a good paying job as an auditor in my county. I got a judgment years ago, and they miscalculated, short of course, the interest I was due.
Me: “How was the interest calculated?”
Auditor: “I don’t know.”
Me: “If you don’t know how to calculate it, how can you audit it?”
The conversation quickly went downhill from there. I didn’t know at the time to ask if she graduated with honors from Temple. LOL
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
Everybody wins when nobody keeps score.
With their knowledge, skills and abilities, they should all do well in the fast food industry…as long as they don’t have to make change…
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
They will soon be down to the STEMs and seeds.
If you hire them it will be easy to scam them with their pay stub..
Every time you drive across a bridge you can get certified as SCUBA diver. Or competitive swimmer.
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
There are immediate openings for Temple engineers or wannabe’s for California’s high-speed rail project.
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
the probably check off a bunch of diversity boxes.
Yeah.
//Cynic hat on
Don’t assume they didn’t learn anything. Assume they learned something different.
Will what they did learn be useful?
That’s the real question.
If it isn’t they can still be used. Know-what-I-mean?
//cynic hat off
I tell the girls that I might not be a “Ten” but a lot of chicks think I’m a two plus two.
Dean Wormer: Fat, drunk and stupid affirmative action quotas will get most of you diplomas and jobs, so party on, if you want.
The Great Thing About STEM Majors Who Can’t Do Math Is…
they won’t pose a threat to our soon to be Chinese overlords.
…it will be easier for the Ministry of Truth to convince the proles that 2+2=5.
. . . they won’t see a problem with the eleventy-eleven compound interest rate in their student loan agreement.
The ever expanding number of Starbucks won’t be lacking employees.
. . . thanks to Dominion, they can say that 1 out of every 3 Biden voters are as stupid as the other 4.