[tinco]

This has confused me a bit about the US education system. Shouldn't this be taught in highschool? Where I live if someone wants to study maths in university, and they haven't done the B2 math track, the university would simply not accept them into enroll into that major. The student would have to get a highschool degree that includes the maths B2 track, if they're under 18 they could simply return to highschool, or if they're older then there's adult (night) schools.

[JadeNB]

> This has confused me a bit about the US education system. Shouldn't this be taught in highschool? Where I live if someone wants to study maths in university, and they haven't done the B2 math track, the university would simply not accept them into enroll into that major. The student would have to get a highschool degree that includes the maths B2 track, if they're under 18 they could simply return to highschool, or if they're older then there's adult (night) schools.

It's not that they haven't been taught this; it's that they haven't conceptualised it, so that 2(x + y) = 2x + 2y to them is just a meaningless rule, and there's no particular reason why it should be true but not 2(xy) = (2x)(2y), or 2^(x + y) = 2^x + 2^y, or whatever. Of course ideally one would only have students in the course who have conceptualised this, but that's not how it happens, and it's not fair for me to teach the course to the students I wish I had.