Somewhere along the way, basically every institution of higher learning accepted the fact that teaching algebra was a way to train a person's mind to "think critically," and therefore made a certain amount of algebra required for any accredited degree of higher learning. But some people's brains simply aren't "wired" in such a way that algebra makes sense to them. Yet these people aren't necessarily therefore less intelligent, but they are at an extreme disadvantage in academia.
I've been told over and over again that algebra isn't so much about the math for most people as it is about training the person to think critically. I argue that algebra is training a person to think via a certain process. In other words, it's almost as though saying, "Follow this pattern, as it is the best pattern to think properly."
At the same time, it is my observation that woefully little attention is paid to history--not necessarily names and dates but causes and effects.
This is not to say that algebra is bad or that history is better, but rather illustrating that the education establishment--not so much different than other entities do--has fallen into a pattern of saying that "this is the correct way, and everybody must do it this way in order for their work to be recognized."
In the church, I am concerned if we hold too rigidly to that pattern. We need to allow room for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of people, regardless of whether or not those people have formal educations.
