While I understand his argument, there are people who use that trig/calc base and move forward with their math careers - NASA scientists, physicists, engineers, and if we don't provide that math education in high school, will we be hurting those careers by not continually pushing their math skills in those directions.
I don't think anyone is arguing that trig or calc don't benefit anyone, but the opportunity cost for a standard curriculum in high school is extremely high. What about the other careers/professions/fields that are hurt by teaching calculus in place of _______? Clearly we need a higher standard than that.
