"Oh I got it!" I jumped up as the fascination hit me.
That's the magic of Math!
Math first "hit" me when I was in elementary school in China where I was fascinated by the rules of multiplication and division. When I finally figured out "Why the result is less when multiplying an integer with a fraction," I told everybody my explanation (of course everybody laughed). It was like a magic that when I finally was able to reveal the "secrets," a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction rolls in.
When I came to the U.S, despite all difficulties of adapting to the new environment, the only language that spoke to me was math. Although my English was very limited, I tried to answer every math question to the best of my abilities. My classmates often laughed at me when I spoke in broken English trying to answer the questions. Gladly, my teacher - Mr. Reijen, recognized my passion. We spent hours discussing math tricks and the "magic" behind it.
"How you did it?" I asked him open mouthed.
"Because I'm a math-magician." he answered.
"I want to be a math-magician too!" I said enthusiastically.
At the same time, I was learning more maths from different Chinese text books that my cousins sent me. Sometimes my mom and I would "debate" for hours over one question until I finally "got it."
"No! You can't do that!" my mom yelled at me.
"Why is it wrong? Look! I did this..." I argued back.
When I asked my mom few days ago why were we so into math, she simply responded, "It's fun!"
As a sophomore in high school, I took AP Statistics and it changed my view in math. Math, from another perspective, it's more about interpretation rather than application. Instead of remember the formulas and theories, I tried to understand them. Interestingly, when sometimes I'm not thinking of anything, a "random" thought would come in and I would suddenly realize the answer (sometimes even in the middle of the night). The next day, I would tell everyone- I just wanted to share - share my happiness!
I felt even more accomplished when other students understood my explanation. Once I struggled to help an ESL student to understand the quadratic formula, and when she finally said "Oh! I got it," I knew math had enlightened her. When I showed students other ways to solve the same problem, I could feel they were experiencing the fascination of this magic!
Suddenly, it was not math anymore - it was the joy of sharing.
Now as a senior, although I no longer have any math courses, math continues to be everywhere. It's amazing how math can be so closely related to Physics and Chemistry, and how more people are becoming fascinated with this magic of math. And here I am helping students in calculus, hearing "Oh! I got it!"
That's the magic of Math!
Math first "hit" me when I was in elementary school in China where I was fascinated by the rules of multiplication and division. When I finally figured out "Why the result is less when multiplying an integer with a fraction," I told everybody my explanation (of course everybody laughed). It was like a magic that when I finally was able to reveal the "secrets," a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction rolls in.
When I came to the U.S, despite all difficulties of adapting to the new environment, the only language that spoke to me was math. Although my English was very limited, I tried to answer every math question to the best of my abilities. My classmates often laughed at me when I spoke in broken English trying to answer the questions. Gladly, my teacher - Mr. Reijen, recognized my passion. We spent hours discussing math tricks and the "magic" behind it.
"How you did it?" I asked him open mouthed.
"Because I'm a math-magician." he answered.
"I want to be a math-magician too!" I said enthusiastically.
At the same time, I was learning more maths from different Chinese text books that my cousins sent me. Sometimes my mom and I would "debate" for hours over one question until I finally "got it."
"No! You can't do that!" my mom yelled at me.
"Why is it wrong? Look! I did this..." I argued back.
When I asked my mom few days ago why were we so into math, she simply responded, "It's fun!"
As a sophomore in high school, I took AP Statistics and it changed my view in math. Math, from another perspective, it's more about interpretation rather than application. Instead of remember the formulas and theories, I tried to understand them. Interestingly, when sometimes I'm not thinking of anything, a "random" thought would come in and I would suddenly realize the answer (sometimes even in the middle of the night). The next day, I would tell everyone- I just wanted to share - share my happiness!
I felt even more accomplished when other students understood my explanation. Once I struggled to help an ESL student to understand the quadratic formula, and when she finally said "Oh! I got it," I knew math had enlightened her. When I showed students other ways to solve the same problem, I could feel they were experiencing the fascination of this magic!
Suddenly, it was not math anymore - it was the joy of sharing.
Now as a senior, although I no longer have any math courses, math continues to be everywhere. It's amazing how math can be so closely related to Physics and Chemistry, and how more people are becoming fascinated with this magic of math. And here I am helping students in calculus, hearing "Oh! I got it!"