Today, we watched a previous episode of Duck Dynasty titled “Mo Math Mo Problems.”

Willie and Korie Robertson were trying to help their daughter Sadie solve an Algebra 2 problem. You know: two trucks driving down the road, one is traveling 15 mph and the other is… yada yada yada.

Willie didn’t know where to begin, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Korrie seemed curious about her husband’s role as tutor, “Willie, you failed Algebra 2!” Willie thinks he passed Algebra 2, with straight A’s. Of course he didn’t, but that’s not quite the point.

The salient point here is the backdrop of this scene—a luxury home owned by algebra-challenged parents who ‘happened’ to build a million dollar empire.

So let’s keep moving.

Willie took the Algebra 2 problem to work to enlist some help. Brother Jase couldn’t solve the word problem either, but being a doggedly creative mastermind, he staged a real-world simulation using their personal monster trucks. I paused the video a that point, a teaching moment streaked by like a meteor.

I’m an advocate of education and academia. I did well in school and want my kids to excel in academics too. But let’s be honest, academic subjects are not “The Keys” to the economic Kingdom. If they were, I’d be on my way to market to sell a herd of steers instead of sitting in front of this computer.

Clearly Willie and Korie Robertson didn’t need Algebra 2 to provide a comfortable living for their family, but from kindergarten through college to graduate school, Americans take on massive debt to pay for an education they’re told they can’t do without. Kids hear, if they don’t get “an education,” they’ll end up poor, working a factory job, a McDonald’s job, or maybe suffer a fate worse than death and become a housewife. Don’t get me wrong, Algebra 2 is making a lot of people very wealthy, look no further than compound interest. Now there’s Algebra 2 hard at work!

I wish American parents were more circumspect regarding their education dollars, that would encourage more thought about their education values.

“Will the education you’re mortgaging actually secure the happiest life for your son or daughter?” A successful education and a college education are sometimes two distinct propositions. In Willie’s case, he may not like the fact that he can’t help Sadie with her math, but Sadie is happy, full of good character, and wants for nothing, therefore, mission accomplished!