Opinion: Proof that you can earn a Ph.D. without mastering high school algebra

So, community college administrators are finally coming to their senses regarding the need for passing intermediate algebra to graduate. (“The politics of math: Is algebra necessary to obtain a college degree?” June 30)

Of all the college-prep classes I took in high school, algebra and geometry proved to be the least useful in everyday life as an adult. Barely managing to earn a “C” in high school Algebra 1 and 2, I was forced to repeat both Geometry 1 and 2. Calculus and trigonometry were out of the question.

More important for daily life application is a basic knowledge of statistics and probability. You don’t need intermediate algebra to learn how to think critically and abstractly.

While I would have been distressingly challenged to complete a course in intermediate algebra, I still somehow managed to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley and go on to earn masters and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology.

Steven Hendlin, Newport Beach

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To the editor: Is The Times suggest-ing that California’s community colleges follow the example set by the Los Angeles Unified School District and lower standards to improve graduation rates?

This only hurts the students when they find out in the real world job market that graduating with lower standards only makes them less competitive.

Andrew Ko, San Marino

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To the editor: I taught math and wrote a math book, but I believe that requiring community college and even university students to master intermediate algebra is akin to requiring them to learn Latin.

They will become far better citizens if they were required to understand the math behind the statistics used in business and government and were required to take significantly more courses in the humanities, especially history.

For too many years, schools have been turning out graduates who are very well trained in specific fields such as law, medicine and finance, but who are not truly educated in the manner that our founding fathers were and hoped future generations would be.

John F. Rossmann, Tustin

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