I heard about Richard Cohen's recent algebra-bashing article in the Washington Post entitled "What is the Value of Algebra?", then I finally read it.

At the Science Blogs, comments like "lame," "stupid," and "outrageous" were pretty standard. It's a difficult situation to comment on, but made only more difficult by the language Cohen uses to disparage math education.

In the article, Cohen takes up the story of Gabriela Ocampo (a name eerily close to the Dallas news reporter, Gloria Campos), who dropped out of the 12th grade after failing algebra six times. Without giving any relevant details of her particular situation or home life, he sides against Gabriela's teachers, saying:

Most of math can now be done by a computer or a calculator. On the other hand, no computer can write a column or even a thank-you note — or reason even a little bit. [...] If, say, the school asked you for another year of English or, God forbid, history, so that you actually had to know something about your world, I would be on its side. But algebra? Please.

Gabriela, sooner or later someone's going to tell you that algebra teaches reasoning. This is a lie propagated by, among others, algebra teachers. Writing is the highest form of reasoning.

And, of course, the coup de grâce:

In L.A., more kids drop out of school on account of algebra than any other subject. I can hardly blame them.

Cohen's utter ignorance makes my blood boil. Not only does he fulfill every (bad) stereotype of C. P. Snow's other culture, he is siding with ignorance. Regardless of how he tries to frame it, he really is defending ignorance by defending walking out on education. This makes me wonder how Cohen would react to an engineer telling young students that they don't have learn to communicate effectively in order to get a job.

One is tempted to think that Cohen's article is an attempt at over-the-top satire, like suggesting for the starving to eat their own children. But even after re-reading it twice, I don't think it is...

Promoting ignorance is not the right way, it never is. How can Richard Cohen call himself a liberal?