Mathematical Explorations - Student Reflections - Spring 1998

The following student reflections are from journals from the spring semester of 1998. This collection is shorter than previous semesters because many students shared thoughts similar to those previously documented and I felt it was redundant to include them repeatedly.

"I do like the fact that this class isn't boring. I tend to want to understand the work because I can't get into something if I am not actually doing it. When professors teach math generally they show you how to do something on the board when half the class is doodling in their notebooks and then they expect you to be masterful at it on a test."

"One of the most surprising things about this class is that I actually like being here, which is weird because every other math class that I have ever had has sucked and been boring."

"When our class began doing work in Chapter 11, I thought I was in hell. Your handout was much more difficult than the book. At that point, although it was a good thing, I thought it was going to be too hard and wanted to go back to the book. However, after spending time on Chapter 11, that challenge is exactly what I needed. It was in Chapter 11 that I gained my appreciation for the differing levels of infinity and some of Zeno's paradoxes. It was not until we went back to the book at the end of class that I realized that the book was no challenge at all. It was the challenge that I received in Chapter 11 that helped me to appreciate mathematics."

"When I first came to class in the beginning of the year you were always talking about how math was so beautiful. When I heard you say this I was like, what is this guy talking about? But as the year went on I started to think about the beauty of math more and more. Math is pretty beautiful! Math is everywhere, it is in all art work and designs. I love art and I love to draw and paint, so I guess math is beautiful to me also."

"My thoughts and feelings on this class? I enjoyed this class thoroughly. I didn't mind getting up early three days a week to come here. That is because for the first time in four years I didn't feel threatened, but rather embraced by mathematics."

"I now appreciate my father's intellect for being an engineer. I used to think he was boring for knowing all this math, but I now see that his thought process goes well beyond just numbers."

"You've shown how someone can see beauty and passion in mathematics. Your passion for mathematics really is inspiring considering the fact that most of my past math teachers didn't really care. They didn't have that fire in their eyes that you have. You want to share what you know and expand on it."

"It was a nice break from the do-it-know-it-or-fail type math course in high school or any other arithmetic course. Granted, I have to know these skills and be able to do them without much difficulty. But it was good to be able to take a course that really just shows math as a form of art and (dare I say it?) philosophy."

"This math class was different from math classes I have taken in the past. We actually covered material that was "fun." Yes, I said it. Math is fun."

"I would definately recommend this class to anyone who needs a math requirement. It's fun and it's exciting, it's different and most importantly, it's not a boring lecture class. We do the work, we ask the questions and we learn."