Let It Be Your Enemy's

This time, I very much feel like writing, but it's late, and I'm tired and even a bit sick. I want to write a poem, a critique of a man's article about math curriculum, something for Werbel, a miscellaneous creative sketch, and random thoughts.

Ok. Lemme see if I can critique concisely.

I read this article. Note, STEM means "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math."

The article is mainly about "Let's Stop Requiring Advanced Math."

Much of it consists of abbreviated questions and answers between two persons.

Why are Americans apparently so bad at teaching and learning math?
Most teachers just can't really rouse enthusiasm.

This is a dangerous starting point: putting the weight of an issue on a lack of enthusiasm.

Why isn't the solution just to have math teachers, and students, work harder and do a better job?
We don't need that many people studying mathematics. ... One in five people don't graduate high school ... and the chief academic reason is that they fail algebra. ... I think it's outrageous and we're doing a lot of harm.

There is 0 logic here. He merely insists that we don't need it, students can't do it, and it's outrageous. I have heard this line of reasoning from many of my teenage students.

What's the alternative? Simply dumbing down the curriculum so everyone can pass?

I'm not anti-math. It's a grand human achievement up there with chess and crossword puzzles.

You can almost hear him continuing: "… and other nerdy things that scare me like grammar and cars and speaking two languages."

The next question is a statement – and a really inane one at that – so I'm not even going to quote it, but the response isn't much better:

What I would like is for math teachers ... to make the subject so fascinating that kids will want to take it.

There you have it, folks: hard work and valuable skills should make way for fun and fascination.

He doesn't say much more after that, and his conclusion doesn't deduce anything. It's just an example of an open-ended project he gave some of his students that — I suppose — made him feel good about himself.

How does one respond to all this?

Friends, Americans, countrymen, yes: grit fosters self-esteem. Grit is not doomed to be self-esteem; grit is doomed. Along with grit, self-esteem is doomed. Along with grit, intelligence is doomed. Along with grit, hard work is doomed.

"What I would like is for math teachers ... to make the subject so fascinating that kids will want to take it." What pure shite — unadulterated shite. I agree that fascination is a powerful motivator. I also idealistically wish that teachers could make subjects fascinating, but, more so, I wish ...

I hold my tongue. It's such a shoddy state of affairs; the context makes it impossible to wish for grit, to wish for real, honorable discipline.

What is the goal in the academic world? Well-rounded citizens? Fail. Hardworking citizens? Fail. Altruistic citizens? Fail. Innovative and intelligent citizens? Fail. Internationally communicative citizens? Fail. Self-respecting citizens? Fail. Globally aware citizens? Fail.

I know they love their money, but they're already doing such a fine job of siphoning it out of the citizens. I guess the main way to keep the siphoning unnoticed is to keep things moving, to keep policies moving, to keep curricula moving, to keep standards moving: smoke and mirrors while the wallets go unwatched.

And the smoke and mirrors don't stop there.

I would like to say more, but I have probably already said too much.

Admittedly, I pronounce advanced math as "hard work and valuable skills" almost as lazily as he pronounced them "outrageous."

Admittedly, though, I am flabbergasted by the idea of having to prove the utility of advanced math.

How dumb have we gotten? Dumb is a harsh word, but we're in dire straits. Life is shitty sometimes; I admit it. Math seems kinda useless in the face of a divorce for example; I'm not trying to say otherwise. Who cares about commas when the pantry is empty? What's the use of rhyming poetry when you're frigid in your apartment because you're scared of the electric bill? What difference does learning an instrument make when your car should be scrapped, but you can't afford to fix it since you can't afford health insurance because you just paid rent even though you only have a part-time job while you've been looking for a full-time job for years?

These are perhaps all the more necessary in such situations.

From the movie "The Last Samurai":

Katsumoto: The Emperor could not hear my words. His army will come. For nine hundred years, my ancestors have protected our people. Now... I have failed them.
Algren: So you will take your own life? In shame? Shame for a life of service? Discipline? Compassion?
Katsumoto: The way of the Samurai is not necessary anymore.
Algren: Necessary? What could be more necessary?
Katsumoto: I will die by the sword. My own, or my enemy's.
Algren: Then let it be your enemy's.

 I feel like we, on average, as a whole, seek to "take [our] own [lives]. In shame. Shame for a life of service. Discipline. Compassion."

In other words, we feel defeated, so we spurn vibrance. We feel as though we are failures. We feel even more ashamed to reach out and learn, reach out and create, reach out and hope, reach out and work, reach out and apply grit until an obstacle – no matter how small – yields to our persistence. We might suppose that, if we're in such a mess, we probably deserve it, so it's useless – offensive even – to consider striving, overcoming, learning, creating. Shame turns into mocking. Mocking turns into exhaustion. Exhaustion turns into laziness. Laziness turns into indifference. Indifference turns into resignation. Resignation turns into a vague sort of despair that manifests itself as a bland desire for diluted entertainment.

Don't ingest the shame that cackles quietly behind every day's challenges. You are not a failure. You have failed at times – and haven't we all? – but you are a vibrant creature whose gifted glory has been under siege since the fall.
It is a gruesome planet, and we must all die, but let it not be by our own swords. Let it be our enemy's.

The enemy ... prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, *

but

do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. *

Though this seems all the worse,

everyone who acknowledges [him] before men, [he] also will acknowledge before [his] Father who is in heaven. *

 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? *

There is always more to be said. There are always more questions. There are always more doubts.

At the very least, for now, don't ingest the shame that cackles quietly behind every day's challenges. You are a vibrant creature whose gifted glory has been under siege since the fall.