Math should not be though in high school.

First, a clarification about the resolution: "In my opinion math should not be though in the high school level. " "Only if the student is interested in pursuing a career in engineering, architecture, scientist, doctor, or even a math teacher. " Though this is a contradiction, I think it's clear my opponent intends to argue that math should be taught only as an elective. If this is an incorrect assumption, I encourage my opponent to clarify next round. Until then, I will argue that math should remain a mandatory high school course in public schools. Due to familiarity, I will be referring to U. S. schools unless otherwise stated. Thanks for your patience, now to the debate! ::Opponent's Arguments:: 1. Math Only Useful for Certain Careers Claiming high school math is only necessary for a handful of careers is a gross underestimation of math's importance in society. Given the boom in careers in science, technology, computers, and the internet, advanced mathematics is an increasingly dominant requirement for today's most desirable positions. In fact, when 200 jobs were compared in terms of "stress, physical demands, hiring outlook, compensation and work environment," 8 of the 10 best jobs required advance math skills (the #1 job was actually mathematician) [1]. Ironically, none of the 10 worst jobs listed focused on math skills [2]. 2. Basic Math is Sufficient Pro's claim that basic math skills are enough for those not interested in a math-related career calls into question the usefulness of high schools at all. After all, why continue studying science in high school if you plan on being a CEO? What use is social studies to a student who wants to be a chef or a doctor? Non-specialized high schools are structured in a way that provides a broad range of knowledge from various fields. The restrictions on math Pro suggests could be applied to any high school subject, resulting in severely limited foundational knowledge and defeating the purpose of generalized high schools. ::Con's Arguments:: 1. High School Math Increases Future Possibilities By stating that math should only be given to students who want to pursue related fields, Pro assumes that high school students' interests will remain the same later in their education. Take, for example, a high school student intent on becoming a writer. By Pro's logic, this individual would not be required to take mathematics in high school and could move on to college knowing only basic arithmetic. Unfortunately, should this student decide to switch their focus to science or engineering, he or she would be hopelessly behind in terms of their mathematics understanding. Add in the fact that most universities and numerous college majors require a strong math background and a student's future choices can quickly become limited by early, uninformed, and immature choices. 2. Keeping Students Competitive Globally The U. S. already suffers globally from a comparatively small number of talented math students, particularly females [3]. Limiting math in our schools only increases this educational gap and threatens a national decline in technological and scientific advancement. The importance of strong math education in this regard is apparent so I'll refrain from elaborating further. ::Conclusion:: Of the five core subjects taught in most high schools (i. e. math, English, science, social studies, and physical education [4]), math is second possibly only to English in terms of overall usefulness and necessity in today's job market. To remove or even limit it in our high schools detriments students strongly; students will be unable to obtain our country's most desirably careers, will be limited in terms of future educational prospects, and will have difficulty competing in today's global market. I thank Naustics again and await his reply. ::References:: 1. . http://www.careercast.com... 2. . http://www.careercast.com... 3. . http://graphics8.nytimes.com... 4. . http://en.wikipedia.org...