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TANGENTS

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the lectures I wish I gave my students

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TANGENTS: a memoir

 

OVERVIEW

Tangents is a memoir that can be read as a personal reflection of over a decade in the public education system.

Divided into six units, Tangents offers six final lectures from science and academia to parenting and politics. Being critical of the system and empowering students can come at the cost of your teaching career.

 

Follow this reimagining of the author's last days in the classroom and the tangential lectures he wishes he would have given his students.

I Hate Graduations
A Graduation Speech

In 2022, the day I announced I was leaving the classroom, the class of 2023 asked me to return the following year to speak at their graduation.

I was humbled that despite my departure, they were requesting one last lecture.

 

This is that speech that provides a better preface to TANGENTS than any other I have written. 

- Nicholas Anthony Linke

I Hate Graduations: A Graduation Speech - Class of 23Nicholas Anthony Linke
00:00 / 14:38

REVIEW:

★★★★★

 

A brilliant, insightful analysis from an educator who sees the threats to undermine our school system but also a hopeful vision for how to empower the next generation.

-Samuel Otten, Ph.D.

Full Professor Mathematics Education 

 

TANGENTS: SAMPLE EXCERPTS

UNIT I

SILENCE SCIENCE

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Silence Science is an argument for science to embrace the position politics has thrust upon it. 

 

Undereducated Guesses considers the descriptive nature of science in the pursuit of truth. Unreasonable Doubt evaluates the predictive power of science and the possible pragmatic extension to be prescriptive. The power of legal laws has stifled the adoption of scientific theories.

Indifference to the scientific ignorance of others has similar consequences to 
indifference toward the well-being of others. Redefining science may help to continue the conversation beyond this essay and produce change.

UNIT II

DEFUND EDUCATION

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Defund Education is a critique of the most ingrained assumptions about the school system.

 

Hidden Curriculum reveals the intentional and unintentional values and lessons school teaches. Transparent Equity reimagines ambitious approaches to creative and collaborative authentic learning.

The faults in the foundation are divergent and deeper than those proposed by the advocates of school choice. Defunding education exacerbates the exploitation, oppression, and indoctrination already in the heartland.

UNIT III

BURN LIBRARIES

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Burn Libraries is a drastic reimagining of education with students as the authors of future history books.

Crucible Schools builds on preceding chapters to explore the origin of creativity and rebellion in school. Graduated Cylinders extends the previous section to consider the application of innovation to the politics of the country.


As Plutarch stated: The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

UNIT IV

RAISE FAILURES

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Raising Failures  is a reflection on the reasons we give children, students, and ourselves for what constitutes "good" behavior.

Ideal Condition contrasts the positions of authority that justify arbitrary distinctions on morality and mentors that inductively co-construct ethics. Real Motivation presents a way to design these communities  with gamification and real game theory to address toxicity in video games and companies.

For students to achieve autonomy, agency, and self-actualization, their needs and motivations must be met.

UNIT V

END TIMES

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End Times is a reckoning with the reality that our actions both deliberately and unintentionally are resulting in a bleak future for our children.

Intentional Apocalypse presents the irreversible dystopian consequences of hollowing our heartland with ignorance, avoidance, and denial. Infinite Iterations prescribes bite-size solutions to bury the unaddressed elephants in the room.

 

Overwhelmed by the daunting task to save the planet, students ask, "Where do we begin?" Just begin.

UNIT VI

HIDE MONSTERS

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Hide Monsters is a reveal of my personal struggles with mental health in a chemically and socially toxic environment.

Broken Minds ventures into the persistent stigmas against mood disorders and the lost mentors that give us  reasons to address our internal monsters. Eternal Reminders directly cites the hero cycle to return with a paradigmatic shift on artificial intelligence to finally answer the last question.

Humans endlessly search for their personalized meaning of life, yet life, by definition, may contain a purpose beyond our perceptions.

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