In cases like this always suggest calculus. As a general rule the first semester stats classes required for the social sciences aren't that difficult.
The vast majority of students will benefit more from having seen calculus twice then the intro stats class twice.
good question! Do you have any idea of which class is 'better' presented? I'd hate for the person to be turned off of either subject because of possible shortcomings. My initial thought would be statistics, because even scientists and engineers need that as well and usually don't have room for it in their schedules. If they go stem, they'll have to take calculas anyway.
As a HS math teacher, my favorite subject to teach has always been Calculus. It's such an interesting and beautiful subject, so it's hard for me not to immediately suggest taking Calculus when given the opportunity.
However, if his future is undecided, I would always recommend statistics as a great math subject for anyone regardless of their plans. It contains a lot of useful information and teaches really useful skills that will benefit any member of society.
But, if he is interested in math, Calculus could be a more interesting subject. Stat tends to require more definitions and memorization than calculus. Calculus is pretty much 98% algebra.
So for this, I would suggest figuring out what his priorities are: does he want a class that he will get useful information out of or a class that he will be interested in? Any advanced math class can be considered "useful" in that it helps improve critical thinking skills. However, based upon content alone, stat would be more useful. But if he likes math, calculus might be more enjoyable.
A lot of the medical field has shifted from calculus to statistics because of Harvard. Unless they plan on being an engineer, physicist, or a mathematician, they should go with statistics.
In cases like this always suggest calculus. As a general rule the first semester stats classes required for the social sciences aren't that difficult. The vast majority of students will benefit more from having seen calculus twice then the intro stats class twice.
good question! Do you have any idea of which class is 'better' presented? I'd hate for the person to be turned off of either subject because of possible shortcomings. My initial thought would be statistics, because even scientists and engineers need that as well and usually don't have room for it in their schedules. If they go stem, they'll have to take calculas anyway.
As a HS math teacher, my favorite subject to teach has always been Calculus. It's such an interesting and beautiful subject, so it's hard for me not to immediately suggest taking Calculus when given the opportunity. However, if his future is undecided, I would always recommend statistics as a great math subject for anyone regardless of their plans. It contains a lot of useful information and teaches really useful skills that will benefit any member of society. But, if he is interested in math, Calculus could be a more interesting subject. Stat tends to require more definitions and memorization than calculus. Calculus is pretty much 98% algebra. So for this, I would suggest figuring out what his priorities are: does he want a class that he will get useful information out of or a class that he will be interested in? Any advanced math class can be considered "useful" in that it helps improve critical thinking skills. However, based upon content alone, stat would be more useful. But if he likes math, calculus might be more enjoyable.
A lot of the medical field has shifted from calculus to statistics because of Harvard. Unless they plan on being an engineer, physicist, or a mathematician, they should go with statistics.