Open Letter on K-12 Mathematics

Wow! Who knew? The framework is documented here [1]. I grew up in CA at a time when the Sputnik was launched and nearly everyone I knew started talking space, science, math, etc. Of course, it's hard to have as epic an event these days, but we still live in an era of rapid exploration and discovery.

What troubles me is this: if they start taking away the staircase for those with interest and capability to climb it, all in favor of reducing whatever social impact that might have on those who do not, then a monstrous mistake is being made. Well, what it really means is that the market for extracurricular activities and opportunities is going to make Wall Street happy.

I have a friend who came to the U.S. from China at age 5; in 9th grade, he got hold of the UC Berkeley Calculus course while still in early high school, and took it. Would this change prevent that? I know someone who was so advanced in grammar school that, in the 5th grade, she took pre-algebra and pre-geometry; she was moved to a so-called more "advanced" school which refused to let her take algebra in the 6th grade because "she was not old enough".

I'd hate to think that educators as ignorant as those were had anything to do with this new framework.

[1] https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ma/cf/

See also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32772376