Learn Mathematics Freely or Die

Yesterday was Anthony Bourdain Day, in celebration of his birthday, his life, and his global legacy as one of the great storytellers of our time.

I met him in 2005. I have a signed copy of his French cookbook, Les Halles. But, the thumbnail image I want to share is one that one of my best friends, Arp, sent me. It is from Rob, a friend of his from Australia.

In the generally conservative world of math education, the title of this article, I am pretty sure will induce push back, criticism, and skepticism. Well, if it didn’t, and we all agreed, I believe Bourdain had a quote for that:

Yesterday was not only Bourdain Day, it was also the day my son quit soccer — a game that he loved and played relentlessly. He had played competitive soccer for the last three years, but found it too stressful, severely impacting the fun he was having. I told him you could drop down to house league, and he did. Unfortunately, due the age division he had to play in, he was one of the youngest and smallest. Half his team mates had also played competitive soccer and were much bigger and faster. The culture of winning and success was still there.

My Son Played With Soccer Balls Until He Wore Them Out

With tears in his eyes, fearing disappointment from me, he told me soccer was no longer fun and he felt he didn’t belong on the team. I had my own welling of tears to contend with as he relayed his frustrations with his childhood sport.

I just listened. I just let it all sink in. I then wrote a polite email to the league and to the coaches that Aidan will not be returning…

The relief on Aidan’s face, to be free of the stress, pressure, and anxiety of always needing to perform playing soccer, was evident. He was back to being a happy and carefree kid again.

I think all of you know where this is going. Mathematics should NOT be a compulsory subject, ESPECIALLY in its current form — which only has some cosmetic updates from the previous century. The only people who need a full serving of mathematics are those pursuing careers in mathematics.

To students who are not remotely interested in learning math, they should not be forced to take it. So this is where you can cue the panic and push back from some in the math community with comments saying this will just create more inequity to jobs and careers.

1. Let’s stop putting mathematics in a confined box of practicality and performance.
2. If we think math is important in the outside world, then let’s walk the walk. Let’s put more emphasis on statistics, probability, utility, game theory, decision-making mathematics, mathematical expectation, duplicity analysis of lotteries/insurance, artificial intelligence, etc. To spin factoring and trigonometry as essential staples for mathematics in the outside world is a big heap of 100% bullshit.
3. Let’s take some ownership of the problem. Most kids hate math. Most kids hate getting tested on math. Not addressing why kids hate math and only offering superficial changes to deal with the anxiety is not dealing with the root causes of the problem.

Mathematics is indeed one of the most beautiful subjects in the world, and its applications in science, health, economics, art, architecture, technology — we wouldn’t have cell phones if wasn’t for fractals — etc.

But, if we can’t update the curriculum so that it is more like mathematics — free — and less like the industrialized, assembly-line product that is taught in schools, then I think it is neglectful and slightly cruel to continue this charade.

As mentioned in a previous article I wrote, 70% of North American quit sports by the age of 13 because it is no longer fun. Fun doesn’t mean easy. Fun just means playing with the self-intention and self-determination energy that should come from kids — naturally.

Currently, the learning of mathematics is legislated and compulsory. The only attrition rates to be measured are the ones that students have been saying for decades. Unfortunately, they have fallen mostly on deaf ears.

Equity means giving all kids equal access to the best mathematics that we, as teachers, can offer. But, in my opinion, equity also should mean deniability by students. If they want to leave in an exodus, then guess what, we are doing something terribly wrong.

If they want to leave in an exodus and cannot, then what we are doing — good intentions notwithstanding — is something quite heartless and cold.

That doesn’t sound like the grace, hope, and kindness that is embedded in equity.

Something is wrong with culture of sports. It’s all about winning. I could have told my son to stick it out. But, I didn’t. His happiness is worth more to me than him participating in something that was clearly eroding his.

We need to think the same way about mathematics and the thousands of kids who suffer with anxiety and low self-esteem, often in silence.

Anthony Bourdain said it well, but Bertrand Russell, mathematician, logician, humanitarian and Nobel Prize winner, said it even better…