Talking about random things is what we do as we discuss both my favorite television shows ever while incorporating what makes the state of Indiana a great place to live. Here on "Keeping Up in The Middle" we discuss what makes our state a great place while tying Frankie into the message of the week throughout our crazy lives and in our crazy state in the state of Indiana as we cover everything from crime to politics to what makes Indiana great and sports.

From producer, Braydyn Lents, this episode was recorded in May 2021 for a class project this is Part 1/2 of the fifth-year celebration as I will graduate from college this fall and I am celebrating this triumphant achievement with a sports podcast since business has been slow with "Keeping Things In The Middle". This podcast talks about the creation of "This is Indiana" which became a love affair for Hoosiers and IU alumni alike after one win versus Kentucky in 2011 and how both the artist and the song helped put the song to new heights. This podcast was supposed to air back at my VU days on Blazer 91.1 FM in Vincennes in 2021, but it never got onto the air.

This story will take you to places never seen or heard in the mainstream media when one mentions math and education. Even my little sister tells me about how bad her school is and I rolled my eyes before seeing what this journey was really about for students in the 21st Century in a post-pandemic world. We followed IU math tutor, Scott Salak, who mentors at-risk students on math and science equations for what will be 31 years at the helm this year at the downstairs part of the 21st Century Scholars office near the outskirts of the IU Bloomington campus. He is widely respected in a world where this field has been desolate and deflating with no hope or hopeful future ahead for his profession.

This story dives into how math has become American education's lost arch of greatness, the American math system. It also dives into human character as Salak performed in a bluegrass band before becoming a tutor, and his impact on students is musically a condition to succeed and do your best even in a topic you are not good at. This story instruments the arts of math and human interest and I was shocked after posting this article to my Substack and Medium blogs on winter break that more people should cover this story as it goes beyond the headlines and describes math in a poetic form.

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LINKS TO THE SUBSTACK & MEDIUM STORIES ON THIS SAME PODCAST TOPIC:

https://medium.com/p/f769dd143cb9

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