In this case it was to accommodate a diagnosis of dyscalculia
under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Both the student
and her "advocate" (her husband) seemed to have the notion that
this diagnosis essentially said "she could never learn math", no
matter how hard she tried or how many different modes we might
allow her to take the course. (We currently offer lecture sections
of Int. Alg. along with an individualized math lab, a telecourse,
and using Academic Systems software.)
While I don't feel the diagnosis said what they claimed (any more
than a dyslexic could never learn how to read), we denied the
waiver for several reasons. The University of Washington has
basically taken the stance that "a requirement that can be waved
is not really a requirement". This student has the option of
an A.G.A. degree (General Studies) and could earn an A.T.A. degree
without much more work. [Both do not have the algebra proficiency
requirement.]
Her high school (back a few years) had also exempted her out of
algebra. My question is: did they do her a favor by doing so?
My personal opinion is that if she were putting half as much
effort into trying to learn algebra as she and her husband have
been putting into trying to get a waiver, she might be closer to
getting an A.A.S. degree by now! (This student has had a history
of excuses and some sort of crisis associated with many classes
she's taken at our institution.)
I think each case needs to be considered individually, but anyone
considering granting such waivers needs to abide by whatever
regulations are in place as well as considering the precedence
they may be setting. Ultimately one needs to understand what is
gained and lost by granting waivers of this type, who wins and
who loses, and are there reasonable alternatives which could be
offered to accommodate the student.
My $.02 --
Jim Francis ******* * * * * *
Edmonds Community College * * * * * *
Mathematics Department * *** * * *
20000 68th Avenue West ***** * * * * *
Lynnwood, WA 98036-5999 * * * * *
(425) 640-1377 * * * * * * *
jfrancis@edcc.edu ******* *** * * * * *
"No generalization is wholly true, not even this one."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935)
"Never make forecasts, especially about the future."
- Samuel Goldwyn (1882-1974)
"Math is like love: a simple idea that can get complicated."
- R. Drabek
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