The Tutor
"Honestly, I don't get this tutoring thing."
"Then how come you are doing it?"
"Right now I am wondering about that myself. I can explain something to you but I can't reach into your head and make you understand or remember it. That's up to you."
"For starters, you explain better than the book or Mrs. Sherman. But what if I still can't understand? It's not my fault, is it?"
"Then we are both screwed. You, because you'll get kicked off the team. And me, because I promised to help you get your grades up. And Mrs. Sherman assigned me to you."
"Oh man, you are right. We are both in deep shit."
"We still have a chance. How about you start trying?"
"How d'you know I haven't been trying?"
"Because you keep gaping at me instead of in the book. Do you have any control over which way you are looking?"
"Yes. I mean, no."
"Which is it?"
"Not when you are around. I'd rather look at you any day than in the stupid book."
"So the bottom line is, you need somebody else to tutor you. Okay then, I am out of here. See you in class."
"Hey, Janet, hang on a sec! Don't go!"
"What's the point? You just told me you couldn't focus with me around. I'll ask Mrs. Sherman to assign to you another tutor who won't distract you."
"I don't want another tutor! Come back here! I'll try harder, I promise."
"Okay, let's take it from the top. The area between two concentric circles is defined by – Are you even listening?"
"I'm trying. I didn't promise to succeed, I just promised to try. What do I need to know math for, anyway? I'm sure I am never gonna need it after I graduate."
"So, you are planning to graduate? Then there's your answer."
"Yeah, I know. But I mean, it's a dumb idea that everybody has to take math. It should be just the kids who are gonna need it for work. What kind of jobs do you need it for, anyways?"
"I dunno... Lots. Accountant, economist, architect, engineer..."
"Sounds boring, all of it. I don't wanna be any of those."
"You still need it to stay on the team, win a baseball scholarship, graduate high school, go to college... Even if you don't use math in your future work, you can't get any kind of education without it."
"Maybe I don't need college to do what I wanna do with my life."
"Which is what, if it isn't too much of a secret?"
"I dunno yet. I haven't decided. But what if I wanna be... I know! A writer! Or a poet! What's so terribly funny?"
"Ha-ha-ha! Never mind the math! Do you know how to spell, for starters?"
"You don't think much of me, do you? You just see me as a jockstrap, right?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to. Anyway, by that time it's not gonna matter. Soon nobody will need to know how to spell."
"How do you mean? Everybody will just be making up the spelling as they go?"
"Ha! You think you know everything! Ever heard of computers?"
"Well duh, sure I have. What's that got to do with anything?"
"Computers can do all kinds of stuff, that's what! They can spell! Come to think of it, they can do math, too. Soon no one will need to know any stupid spelling or stupid math. We'll have computers for all that."
"Wow, what do you know. And where do computers come from?"
"They make them in a factory, I guess."
"So, somebody needs to design and build them, right? Don't you think that should be a pretty cool job? If you really know anything about this, then you know computers can do so much more than "stupid" spelling or "stupid" math. Imagine being the one who creates them and teaches them to perform all those complex tasks! The power those people have! They must feel like God!"
"I guess. So what?"
"So, wouldn't you like to have an exciting job like that?"
"I dunno. Maybe. Never really thought about it."
"Why don't you think about it, then? Just keep in mind you do need math for that. Lots of math, before you can teach a computer to do your math for you."
"Oh man, I knew there was a catch in there somewhere."
"I think it should be worth it. If you ask me, those are the best jobs around these days. The money's pretty good, too. I, for one, can't think of anything I'd rather do."
"Why don't you do it, then?"
"Oh, I'd love to. I really would. Except – "
"Oh right. You are a girl."
"Excuse me? Did you just notice? And anyway, what's that supposed to mean? Girls are too dumb? Girls can only work as housemaids or waitresses? This isn't the Middle Ages, in case you have problems with history, too."
"Chill out, okay? I didn't mean it like that! Hey, you understand math and I don't, so why would I think you are dumb?"
"You have a point. Whatever did you mean, then?"
"I meant – Just don't jump down my throat, okay?"
"Depends. Go ahead."
"I am not as ignorant as you think, okay? I have heard a few things about it. I know it takes years of schooling before you can get anywhere at all. And you need to really focus on it."
"And? Girls are incapable of doing that?"
"No! Girls get married and have kids. I mean, you can't very well focus on your studies or work with a couple of hollering kids around, can you?"
"And guys don't get married, is that it? Who do girls marry, then? Other girls?"
"Other girls?! Ha-ha-ha! Oh man! Girls marrying other girls! You are so funny! What I mean is, a guy can just go off to work or to school and leave the wife to deal with the kids. But a woman can't focus on work or school and forget all about the kids, right? She has to do all a guy does plus look after the kids. And after the husband, too. That must be real tough."
"Oh. Oh, I see what you mean. Wow... that's actually very... enlightened."
"What's that? What does it mean?"
"It means... it means not even every adult understands this as well as you. I had no idea you could – "
"Frankly, I never thought girls would be interested in something like computers."
"A-a-and... we are back in the Dark Ages. The Age of Enlightenment was nice while it lasted, though."
"Hang on! Don't start, okay? I just haven't met any girls who would be more interested in building computers than dating or getting married."
"Well, take a good look, then."
"Yeah but that's just you... Oh crap! Oh crap! Why do I keep saying the wrong things when I am around you? You must think I am a total moron! I swear, I am not like this when I am with the guys! Okay, go ahead and laugh!"
"By this time, I no longer know whether to laugh or cry."
"How about you try neither and listen to me instead? All I meant was, it's only you. As in, you are the only girl I've met who is interested in this kind of stuff."
"Seriously? If that's the case, you can't have met that many..."
"What I'm trying to say is, you are not like other girls. You are different."
"So I've heard. Just curious, what exactly is wrong with me?"
"Wrong? Who said anything about wrong?"
"Well then, how am I different?"
"Different... meaning better, I guess. I mean, much better than – than – than all the other girls I know."
"Perfect. I walked right into this one."
"And what's wrong with that? It's not what you wanna hear, is that it? Or at any rate, not from me?"
"At any rate, not when I am trying to help you with the stupid ma- Oh no. I've been spending too much time around you."
"Hey, Janet..."
"Huh?"
"Can you forget about math for just one minute? I am trying to tell you something here. I just don't know how."
"Then how do you expect to become a poet or a writer? At the very least, you'll need to be able to express yourself. Say, you write a book. Is it gonna be all blank pages?"
"Maybe I'll get better at it by that time. But now, it's kinda hard to focus, between your wisecracks and your math."
"My math?! My math isn't the reason we are here! As for my wisecracks – Okay, you know what? I'll make you a deal. If you manage to get some math through your head in the next half hour, I'll sit and listen to whatever you have to say. For all of five minutes."
"Wow! A whole five minutes with no wisecracks? Do you even know how to do that? Hey, wanna go for ten?"
"Look, let's not haggle. I need to get home sometime soon. Believe it or not, I do have a life. My offer stands: Five minutes, no wisecracks. Take it or leave it."
"Cool! Come on then, where were we? What did you say those concentrated circles were doing?"
September 5, 2021