Today is AP Calculus Day

Today is the birthday of Allen Shields born 1927 New York, New York, USA.  Shields worked on a wide range of topics such as measure theory, complex functions, functional analysis, and operator theory.



Today my AP Calculus students and students across the nation and world will be taking the exam.  This test is a culmination of an entire year of tears and laughter.  These students have worked extremely hard to gain college credit.  Students are scored from a range of 1 to 5.  A score of 3, 4, or 5 usually earns college credit for the student.  There will be students that have chosen to endure the class who will not score high enough to receive college credit.  I believe that all students that have taken this class are well-prepared for a post-secondary experience.  My son, Sam, did well in AP Calculus and earned college credit.  He was at one time considering studying Neurology.  He was confident that he had the education background to explore that major.  He decided to close that door and became an actor.  When he did so, he remarked to me, "Gee, Dad I won't have to take another math class!"  Oh, well . . . I have even heard that remark from former students that are becoming engineers :-)

My goal is to energize students about the beauty of mathematics.  However, I feel that I overwhelm some students and actually cause math anxiety.  Is that anxiety a result of their lack of strong fundamentals in mathematics, the pressure of gpa and class rank, or is it the intensity that I bring to the classroom?  Is my relentless questioning and probing intimidating?

To all my former calculus students, thanks for your efforts, and to this year's class GOOD LUCK :-)