N.A.S.A. (Or, striving for something greater)

Hi all,

I need us to strive for something.  Maybe then we would have something to work for again.  The stars, the deep, Mars - we need something to work for and someone to beat, like Russia in the 60s.  I want students to love my subject, or at the very least need it, to accomplish larger goals.  I wish I could foster in them the love of learning of discovery, that the space race in the 60s did.  Humans are built to discover, to learn, to love and to build.  Instead of learning math because they have to, I want my students to learn to love it and use it for finding greater purpose.  Abstraction, the thing that makes algebra difficult, can also make life better and easier.  Students can empathize with others, hold on to the truths in their lives, and find commonality.  Commonality with others leads to peace, knowledge, and absolute truth.

I know I'm waxing philosophical.  I suppose I can attribute that to my philosophy minor at Bates.  Or my own pursuit of truth, justice and the American Way.  The thing is, the more I know about math and people, the more I realize that people only hate what they can't understand.  It exposes their weakness, so they take out their frustration on their math teacher.  I'm willing to take it, as long as they eventually learn something.  However, it would be lovely if instead of hating my class or me because they don't understand, we could strive together to accomplish better things. 

At any rate, hope you're all well and pursuing something greater today.  Or, at the very least, enjoying your lives :)

Sincerely,

Mark

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