Letter: Piling higher and lower

Editor, Daily News:

So Gov. Jeb Bush has signed House Bill 7087, the bill intended to lift Florida from its current position as the state with the worst high school graduation rate in the nation.

Unfortunately, this shameful situation will not be rectified by tweaking a policy that is already serious flawed.

Bush is quoted as saying: "Our education system should not be a one-size-fits-all system for every student."

Really? I wonder how he would describe the FCAT.

As the mother of two adult and two teenage children, I have long been associated with education and believe one reason so many students drop out of high school is because of the system's obsession with math.

The vast majority of students will not go on to careers requiring the level of math currently being taught, and many will never get to grips with geometry, algebra, trigonometry and calculus.

For many, higher math is pure misery and a major stumbling block to achieving a good, basic education. Under this new bill, high school students will be required to take a fourth year of math, which I predict will only serve to drive more students to drop out.

The last two years of high school should be about preparing for adult life, and the introduction of vocational training is a step in the right direction.

However, unless we modernize the curriculum, Florida is doomed to languish at the bottom of the pile for years to come.

— Nina Mold / Naples