Welcome to my blog, or should I say to the ramblings of an old man. I doubt that my ramblings are of much value, but at least I have an opportunity to share them.  So, please be kind and humor me. If nothing else of value stands out in these thoughts, I hope that you at least sense the value I place on a daily walk with the Lord.  That walk is what has provided me with motivation and a sense of purpose throughout my lifetime.  My prayer is that you, too, are experiencing this direction and joy in daily living which is available to everyone who puts his trust in Christ.  So, thanks again for joining me.  Please don't go without leaving some comments here so I can get to know you better as our paths intersect today in this blog.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Oh Algebra!

There are only a few things that I do miss about teaching. One of these are the things that I did during the last two days of school before the Christmas break. First, I always gave tests two days before the break so that we could begin a new unit when we returned. As part of these tests, I would include a couple of non-mathematical bonus questions about details of the Christmas season. The tests were then corrected and ready to return the next day when my class was always taught by a substitute - Santa Claus. I think I went through three Santa outfits in my many years of teaching. Santa would start by leading the class in some of Mr. K.'s special holiday songs. Several of those will be found later in this blog. Santa would then review the bonus questions and share things about "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus", Dicken's "Christmas Carol", the traditions of Hanukkah, and then the Christmas story from Luke. I would conclude by reading the story from Luke and sharing my personal observations. I always was careful to handle this tactfully and in decades of doing it, I never heard a complaint. In fact, some of the only things my former students remember about my classes are the things I shared about the meaning of Christmas and the mathematical carols I had written. Concerning the carols, I never had them copyrighted but I have heard that they have been used in various math classes in Lancaster County and actually throughout the nation. Some of this is the result of sharing things with other Presidential Award winners that I have learned to know. It is interesting that a few days ago I heard "O Christmas Tree" on the radio and I immediately began to sing the words to one of my songs that I haven't sung in about nine years. Anyway, for your enjoyment, here are a few that you can try to sing, even if math wasn't your favorite subject.

OH ALGEBRA (OH CHRISTMAS TREE)
Oh algebra, oh algebra, how lovely are your properties,
Oh algebra, oh algebra, how lovely are your properties.
They show us how to operate, our feeble minds they stimulate.
Oh algebra, oh algebra, how lovely are your properties.

I'M DREAMING OF A NICE PARABOLA (I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS)
I'm dreaming of a nice parabola, just like the ones we used to draw,
With a fixed directrix, a single focus, a vertex which on the graph doth fall.
I'm dreaming of a nice parabola, with every quadratic that I see,
May your thoughts be second degree, as you sketch a parabola for me.

MATHEMATICS, MY FAVORITE SUBJECT (RUDOLPH)
Mathematics, my favorite subject, is a very challenging class.
And, if you ever take it, you will learn to love it fast.
In it we learn equations, linear, quadratic and more,
We always do our homework, it will ne'er become a bore.
For some future college day, professor just might say,
"Students with your minds so bright, solve this problem right tonight!"
Then you will use this background, that some other kids have missed,
With math you'll solve the problem and be named to the Dean's List!

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