understanding

When I took calculus in high school, my teacher was a master at creating alternate realities. Through the sheer force of his personality (and probably 20 years of practice) he drew in the class and we came out the other end knowing not only his procedures and policies but also a fictional personal mythology of math that included Charlton Heston, The Math Gods, aliens, Mickey Mouse, and a whole cast of other characters, inside jokes, and special terminology. We felt like we were part of a secret club. And, in a sense, we were — the mathematical elite of that high school.

So, I aspire. I’ve given quirky problems and projects about my spring break road trip in college, where to sit in the movie theater with your girlfriend (which some of the girls from the class verified with my girlfriend at the time in the ladies’ room during last year’s prom — and of course, she knew the answer), and some terrible puns lifted directly from my own high school experience (unLIMITed enjoyment, etc). This year, I gave my calculus students these little buttons that said “Calculus All-Stars” with a derivative on them after we finished that unit test. It quickly became the class identity. I didn’t set out to do that, but it’s almost as if every class wants to create an identity to set themselves apart and have a way to honor each other for their dedication and hard work. Anyway, this is just an observation that this effect can be used to great advantage and that masters of the game probably know this on several levels.