Böcker av Andrew Hacker

A New York Timesbestselling author looks at mathematics education in Americawhen it's worthwhile, and when it's not. Why do we inflict a full menu of mathematicsalgebra, geometry, trigonometry, even calculuson all young Americans, regardless of their interests or aptitudes? While Andrew Hacker has been a professor of mathematics himself, and extols the glories of the subject, he also questions some widely held assumptions in this thought-provoking and practical-minded book. Does advanced math really broaden our minds? Is mastery of azimuths and asymptotes needed for success in most jobs? Should the entire Common Core syllabus be required of every student? Hacker worries that our nation's current frenzied emphasis on STEM is diverting attention from other pursuits and even subverting the spirit of the country. Here, he shows how mandating math for everyone prevents other talents from being developed and acts as an irrational barrier to graduation and careers. He proposes alternatives, including teaching facility with figures, quantitative reasoning, and understanding statistics. Expanding upon the author's viral New York Times op-ed, The Math Mythis sure to spark a heated and needed national conversationnot just about mathematics but about the kind of people and society we want to be. ';Hacker's accessible arguments offer plenty to think about and should serve as a clarion call to students, parents, and educators who decry the one-size-fits-all approach to schooling.' Publishers Weekly, starred review

A quarter of a million dollars. It''s the going tab for four years at most top-tier colleges. Why does it cost so much and is it worth it? In this provocative investigation, the renowned sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus make an incisive case that the American way of higher educationΓÇönow a $420 billion-per-year businessΓÇöhas lost sight of its primary mission: the education of our young people. They probe the true performance of the Ivy League, the baleful influence of tenure, an unhealthy reliance on part-time teachers, and supersized bureaucracies which now have lives of their own. Hacker and Dreifus take readers from Princeton and Harvard to Evergreen State, revealing those institutions that need to adjust their priorities and others that are getting it right, proving that learning can be achievedΓÇöand at a much more reasonable price. Higher Education? is a wake-up call and a call to arms.