Real World MathSo, when did it become socially acceptable to say “I’m terrible at math?” Longer ago than any of us here remember, unfortunately, but we’re hoping that our Real World Math program, replete with tutorials and problems courtesy of Khan Academy, can help turn that sad story around. Here’s the program of courses:

Plenty of virtual ink has been spilled hashing out the pros and cons of so-called ‘remedial’ courses in college, but for a quick primer on the issues and partisans, the links below are a good start.

When Michel Martin took up the question of remedial math education on her “Tell Me More” radio program (“Catching Up With Remedial Courses In College” 12/18/12), she and her guest quickly identified a couple of the key points at issue: time and money.

The money issue’s fairly simple: students who need a little catching up enroll in college and pay full tuition to (re)learn what they were meant to get in public school.  Time is a bit more complex, but when students need to take on extra semesters to complete a degree, the likelihood of being able to finish that degree before life intervenes can drop considerably (check out this report from non-profit Complete College America for some sobering stats).

The issues are daunting to freshly-minted high school grads and to non-traditional students alike, but the mathematics part doesn’t have to be so bad…you might even realize that you’re not so terrible at math after all.