Response to Lockhart's Lament

Reading this article was a little bit like reading science fiction to me. Seemed like interesting concepts and I would like aspects of it to be integrated into our current system, but I also think that Lockhart was overselling his ideas. I suppose he may have been pushing them so hard, because he really wants these ideas to stick to people's minds. His writing was also incredibly engaging.

I think Lockhart is bringing up an experiment that has failed in the past for other subjects and he is proposing that we give math the shot as well. However, I think his suggestions are no different nor more problematic than suggesting that we forgo teaching students grammar and vocabulary and let them run free with creativity. Furthermore, I also think that he does not account for the value in basic arithmetic and mathematical understanding beyond proofs and pattern. 

That being said, I do appreciate that Lockhart argues for seeing math as an art. I think that there would be many students that may come along to this idea (although I still think that there is some instrumental math that is good for everyone to know). I would suggest the idea of promoting Lockhart's view of math as art more, alongside the instrumental, algebraic, or unrelatable views of math. I honestly just think that each individual is unique and math teaching strategies almost never seem to accommodate everyone.