The track record of math teaching in Russia has been impressive, Kolmogorov, Dynkin, etc. Too much in the US, there is secret culture: Math teaching is to fil

The track record of math teaching in Russia has been impressive, Kolmogorov, Dynkin, etc. Too much in the US, there is secret culture: Math teaching is to filter, and the students have to prove themselves against challenges presented and deliberately constructed to cause a significant fraction of the students to fail. Eventually I had enough in accomplishments just to quit making an effort to prove myself again. Then when people started to attack me, I'd let them go too far and then use some accomplishment, old or new, to shoot them down. One of the best ones: At the end of 8th grade arithmetic, the teacher pulled me aside, alone, and with care and trying to be good, gave me a D in her class, said I could take High School Arithmetic, and should take no more math. It's true: I was no good in much of her course, the part that needed careful writing for the arithmetic, say, 1234 times 5678. Why? I was an 8th grade male with not so good manual dexterity -- the girls were MUCH better (standard). My 6th grade teacher saw the same. But as a senior, the SAT scores came back, and the 6th grade teacher read them to me: For the verbal score, trying to be nice, and with her low expectations, said "Very good". Not really! Then for the Math SAT she stopped. Afraid. "There must he something wrong." Yup, there was, and had been for 12 painful years. Of 1-2-3 in the class, I was #2. #3 was voted "Most Intellectual" and went to MIT. Right, since there was no Yeshiva in town, 1 and 3 were Jewish!!! It continued that way: Get attacked and attack back with some accomplishment and win. But, net, a dumb situation. Solution? Own a successful startup! Working on it!