“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea” Antoine De Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince.

  This thought is one of my all time favorite and conveys my teaching philosophy. Too often the math classes become nothing more than a course in techniques of symbol manipulation. While there is no denying its an important skill unless one knows where those symbolic manipulation skills are taking you the motivation to continue is easily lost. I had some terrific instructors such as Dr. Kammler, Dr Porter, Dr. Kocik and Dr. Lane Clark who knew this truth very well who motivated me to become a better student.