The soul of math
When I took calculus for the first time, the teacher said something like "Calculus means dust; it is the elementary topic that can build gigantic structures". I've used something to that effect several times when I've talked about calculus.
Every quarter, I give a bonus assignment to students in my calculus class. I ask them to write about what they liked and disliked about the class. One student wrote a line I will use in the future when I talk about calculus. He said that calculus is "the soul of math". I love that line.
I think if students saw calculus as being so powerful, they would accept that you can't possibly understand calculus after 12 weeks (I still don't feel like I can say I completely understand calculus), and there comes a time when you accept a B grade, instead of an A. By the way, the best grade I ever got in a calculus class was a B+.
Every quarter, I give a bonus assignment to students in my calculus class. I ask them to write about what they liked and disliked about the class. One student wrote a line I will use in the future when I talk about calculus. He said that calculus is "the soul of math". I love that line.
I think if students saw calculus as being so powerful, they would accept that you can't possibly understand calculus after 12 weeks (I still don't feel like I can say I completely understand calculus), and there comes a time when you accept a B grade, instead of an A. By the way, the best grade I ever got in a calculus class was a B+.
posted by Jefferson at 1:50 PM
1 Comments:
hey there jefferson,
as i think you know, i have some real issues with math...but i'm trying to be better, or at least have a more enlightened attitude towards its existence, and reading this kind of thing helps. while i will never actually do calculus (or really even know what it refers to), i'm trying to recognize its potential worth and beauty, and that it does indeed have a soul. so thanks for this post--maybe it can be part of my 12-step math-phobia recovery process :)
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