This article is garbage, plain and simple. All the arguments the author makes about math, one could easily make about every single academic subject. Vet techs never use algebra. You know what, they probably never write argumentative essays, either. Should we throw out rhetoric as a requirement, and just make sure that individuals can read technical instruction and fill out forms properly? Let's call it "applied language".

I'm all for vocational training. No one should have to go to college to get a career they enjoy. But then how about argue for more vocational training, instead of the lowering the bar at the academy? Algebra forms the basis for all problem solving. How can we teach statistics without calculus, as this guy argues? And without algebra there's certainly no calculus. The guy is attacking the wrong thing. Let kids decide in their late teens if they want an apprenticeship, and then don't encourage them to go to college if they don't want to. Don't buy into the idea that everyone should go to college, and then say college is too hard for most people.