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Today's quote is from Jospeh-Louis Lagrange who said, "As long as algebra and geometry have been separated, their progress have been slow and their uses limited; but when the two sciences have been united, they have lent each mutual forces, and have march together towards perfection."
This is my tenth year of teaching AP Calculus. I retired last year and was hired back part time. This year was also the year I had my official teacher observation. During the follow up conversation with my principal, I remarked that I would like to teach again next year if the opportunity arose. He was very open to the idea but did inquire why I didn't look to teaching opportunities in a different educational setting such as in a collegiate environment. I paused and then confessed that I was touched by the relationships that I formed with my students. He smiled and said, "Your not such a tough guy."
My classes are currently reviewing all the topics we have covered and preparing for the AP Calculus Exam that will be in May. I also had Parent-Teacher Conferences this past week and some serious discussions with parents on the probability that their child will pass the exam and receive college credit. I analyze the statistical data I have gathered on each individual student and have a fairly accurate predication model on that probability. I have a conservative model. By that I mean, most students due better that I predict but for me personally, this time of year is heart wrenching.
My students have worked hard, possibly harder than any math class they have taken previously. Many have given up the luxury of an A or B with little work and had to adjust to struggling to get a C. What has happened as I have become older, I agonize on how I can get them to squeak out 1 or 2 extra points on a question or how to see that problems they struggle with are related to the problems with which they solve with ease. The parents really want their child to succeed and not feel the pain of perceived failure.
I try to assure the parents that even if their child scores a 1 or a 2, they will be fluent in calculus when and if their child takes it again but the parents want more, they want assurance. I understand that, I'm a parent.
I have been with these students the entire year and every year it happens, I fall in love with them. They are delightful. They make me laugh, they make me think, they challenge me, and they teach me. I become the student. If I could, I would give them all 5's but that is not going to happen.
Bob Dylan wrote in the song "If You See Her, Say Hello" these lyrics: "Either I'm too sensitive or I'm getting soft. Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past. I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast." The years and classes do. I wish I could slow them down.
