Dumb It Down!

Noah gave an exaggerated sigh this afternoon and waited for me to ask him what was wrong.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want to plan my coursework this semester!" I agreed with him, I didn't want to plan his coursework either. I'm not a very good planner and that showed when I was an English teacher in Bangkok. As my first teaching experience ever, I didn't realize how badly my usual procrastinating would effect my work. I tried my damnest to stay just one lesson plan ahead of my students for seven different classes. By the way, Charansanitwong School of Business, thank you for hiring me!

Noah was concerned about that but was a little depressed about another aspect of planning a semester for four classes. He worried that his lofty creative plans would be shot down by his students. His students are not English majors and do not find his critical thinking useful. He was mentally preparing to dumb down his coursework for his students. If he didn't, there was a good chance a mutiny would rise against him. Apparently his students get resentful if they're pushed into thinking too hard.

If you think this is too harsh of him to admit, then consider the general intellectual climate of America today. Rick Santorum thinks going to college is for snobs. Texas is decides to do away with critical thinking in schools. Remember how G. W. Bush was able to lead the country? Average citizens didn't care about how frighteningly stupid "W" was. They just knew "this is a guy I can get a beer with."

Dumbing it Down is a sobering reality that critical thinkers have to deal with. But is there a way to cut through the layman bullshit with some serious dialogue on subjects we NEED to talk about? There has to be! Because those subject that we refuse to broach (because they're so damn hard to think about) are still going to be monkeys on our collective backs. Racism, Labor Rights, Global Warming and other "things that go bump in the night" are not leaving any time soon.

The subject made me think of a Lupe Fiasco song I'd heard a few years ago. It's aptly named "Dumb it Down." Give a listen.

Lupe Fiasco - Dumb It Down .mp3

Found at bee mp3 search engine

It sounds like Fiasco has his own coursework planning woes. His projected audience, listeners of hip hop, are just as disgruntled as Noah's students.

You goin' over niggas' heads Lu (Dumb it down)
They tellin' me that they don't feel you (Dumb it down)
We ain't graduate from school nigga (Dumb it down)
Them big words ain't cool nigga (Dumb it down)
Yeah I heard Mean And Vicious nigga (Dumb it down)
Make a song for the bitches nigga (Dumb it down)
We don't care about the weather nigga (Dumb it down)
You'll sell more records if you (Dumb it down)

And if that's not enough, Fiasco's getting it from the other side, from recording execs

You've been shedding too much light Lu (Dumb it down)
You make'em wanna do right Lu (Dumb it down)
They're getting self-esteem Lu (Dumb it down)
These girls are trying to be queens Lu (Dumb it down)
They're trying to graduate from school Lu (Dumb it down)
They're starting to think that smart is cool Lu (Dumb it down)
They're trying to get up out the hood Lu (Dumb it down)
I'll tell you what you should do (Dumb it down)


It's mighty hard to be an artist, a creative person, who is stuck in a box of societal norms. It's difficult for an artist or a critical thinkers to dine and be satisfied with mediocrity. What does ingenuity mean if we aren't able to evolve and push the limits of our minds. People say that ingenuity is what built this great nation. Where the hell did it all go? Why are we so proud to be ignorant?

Scratch that, being ignorant isn't necessarily a bad thing. The pride you feel when you know you're ignorant and refuse to do anything about it. . . that's a terrible thing. Watch yourself. If you feel like something you don't know is not worth knowing, if you feel that easy roads always work better, if you get angry with an intellectual and demand she Dumb it Down. . . you might be in trouble.

It's hard for me to advice Noah in situations like these. I don't want him to compromise his integrity as a thinker by inviting mediocrity into his classroom. But I know that's got to be some boulder to push up a mountain. I say stick to your guns. Some people will fall by the wayside but there will be others who trust that you're up to something good. I still like Lupe Fiasco even if he's not singing about his cars. I'm hoping someone in Noah's class will cut him a break.