I do not have a math mind, despite my math minded parentage. If you ask me to add two numbers together, I gaze vacantly into the distance and hope you go away.
Oddly, though, I aced my Regents. My high school teacher had called up my parents, worriedly reporting I was falling asleep during her classes (I didn't fall asleep in class in general, but her voice was so monotonous), warning them I would be unprepared for the exam.
"I'll be fine," I attempted to reassure them. "I've been doing the practice tests. I've got this covered."
They did not believe me. After all, they knew I didn't have a math mind. They took away my tv. MY TV! The trauma!
Yet they didn't realize that every spare moment I had, including recess, I was doing practice problems (I was voted "most likely to do homework during lunch"). The sheer repetition taught me better than my poor teacher could. To my parents' (and Luke's) shock, I got a 99.
I suppose I knew I was slacking off in class, and that I could do better. But some kids need to be told that they can do better, and then they do, writes David Kirp.
I think this same premise applies even to adults. We're here on this earth to improve, right? To overcome our negative innate qualities. To "strive for excellence."
And yet I am surprised by how many fellow frum Jews shrug defeatedly and blame nature, rather than taking personal responsibility.
It takes awareness. It means one day, choosing not to operate on automatic pilot, acting instead with deliberate thought. Until it becomes automatic.
It can be done. I believe in you, and me.
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