>On May 13, 11:48=A0am, kev...@mit.edu (Beth Kevles) wrote:

>> Citing "The Bell Curve" makes me suspect everything else in those
>> posts... "The Bell Curve" is really NOT good science. =A0It's based on
>> ideas that lost respect after World War II (and for good reason)!

>You do not want to base opposition to genocide or racial oppression on
>the idea that all groups have equal capabilities on average. What if
>they turn out not to?

>> My guess would be that, with the advent of the algebra requirement,
>> schools are pushing kids faster than they can learn. =A0Kids who don't
>> develop a deep sense of numeracy, who move from math unit to math unit
>> at too quick a pace, never develop the basic mathematical foundations
>> upon which algebra is built. =A0And honestly, there are a lot of excellent=

>> teachers out there who have the same problem, and so don't teach math
>> verhy well at the elementary level (where teachers are expected to teach
>> ALL subjects, not just the ones they understand well).

>> I see no evidence that kids are innately too dumb or unmotivated to
>> learn algebra. =A0