Posted 11/15/2006 05:26:00 PM by Douglas

Here's an idea: It's a judgment call and I'm makin' it, but if you can't pass pre-cal and physics in high school you've got no business going to college. Yeah, I know I'm a in the minority, but I'm also not a raving idiot, either. (oh, wait)

Those two classes strike terror in the hearts of many high school students, though both can be avoided by college-bound youths. But that could change as state education policymakers implement a new rule requiring students on the recommended graduation plan to take a fourth year of math and science.

A battle about the rigor of the courses that will count toward the so-called "4-by-4" curriculum rages anew at today's State Board of Education meeting.

In September, the board gave a tentative nod to a plan that would allow students to choose from a variety of courses, including some lower-level math and science classes, for their fourth credit. But many in the business community and some concerned parents are stepping up pressure on the board to require more-difficult courses for seniors.

"A lot of key occupations like engineering and nursing are suffering because we've taken our eye off the prize and watered down the curriculum so much that it builds very little skills in students by the time they've graduated from high school," said George Edwards Jr., a former trustee of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD who favors requiring challenging courses such as physics and pre-calculus.

How dare industry dictate to the public confiscatory taxing/education system that they teach kids stuff they actually need to know?!? Don't they know there was a game this week?!?

Seriously, high schools are getting dumbed-down in lock step with colleges, so in a few years this won't even matter, but if you're in school as a serious student and you're complaining that the administration is trying to teach you too much, you need to do a little research and find out what McDonald's is paying. That's where you're headed, pep-rally kid.