Ain't gonna work. in A small but passable life.

“The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe” by Roger Penrose.

I hated to do it. But I had to. I closed the book somewhere in Chapter Two. I was already lost. I’m going to have to resign mathematics to the same file as I have other esoteric subjects.

Some people just can’t see it. And I’m one of them.

In the US the number one reason students drop out of highschool is not being able to pass algebra.

In the US the number one reason students drop out of college is not being able to pass algebra.

I’ve done the research. A lot of research. Mathematics instructors through various unions and associations have pushed through legislation requiring a certain level of instruction for graduation requirement. Basically, passing algebra to graduate most academic programs.

Why? As always, in capitalism, just follow the money. Who’s job is on the line?

I took Basic Algebra twice in a community college after being placed in that level by a test. The first time I made a “D” which didn’t allow me to continue on. But I did get a certificate for perfect attendance!

The second time I took it I did a summer class. This meant four times a week for five weeks. The class was in the morning so every day after class I went to the math lab for help for the rest of the day. I had all the work from the first time so I didn’t have to work the problems I had gotten correct, just the ones I hadn’t. Plus, the instructor gave us extra credits for things not mathematical, like attendance and extra work. Somehow I got a “A”. But I still didn’t know what was going on.

By the time “Last Day to Drop” came around more than half the class had dropped.

I took Intermediate Algebra twice also. The same thing happened both times. A test was given at the beginning, which I failed. A conference with the instructor where I explained that just because I’d made an “A” didn’t mean I had the slightest clue what the fuck what going on and no, I wasn’t going to take Basic a third time.

And both times I dropped on the last day to drop. Money down the shitter. And both times I went back the following week to peek in the window in the door during that class. And sure enough, out of thirty-plus students who started, there were eight or ten left.

And as for the three times I was called into the Head of Mathematics (?) office and asked what my problem was, she acted offended when I asked “Why can’t you folks teach Algebra?”

So, my quest for an Associate Transfer Degree ended. Even though my GPA at the time was a 4.0.

I’m satisfied with the ninety-plus hours of debt free college credit I’ve accumulated in the last forty years. (Three different colleges and universities.)

(I’m lacking some General Ed credits. (The reason for the need of a Transfer Degree.) I have all my Speech Communication, Political Science, Philosophy, and History credits for a major and three minors.)

I’ll just sit in my chair and go the autodidact route. I’m still thinking about those free courses from MIT.

Sure a diploma will get you a seat at the table for some kind of game to play (corporate, academic, or financial), if you’re into that kind of thing, but I believe game play isn’t necessary for living.

Besides, a mathematician can’t tell you where we are any more than any human on Earth could.

All that to say I’m setting a book aside? Oops!

Last updated August 27, 2020