Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NYC Xplain GPA
NYC Xplain GPA
NYC Xplain GPA
https://www.nycteachingfellows.org/misc/application/default.asp?loggedout=1&app_year
=20081&app_year_desc=midyear+2007%2d2008&key=
gpa explain
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i love math; even engineering a/k/a "word problems".
as a trained musician, i want to share my entusiasm for the benefits of mathematical
study throughout life.
i think the fear of math in america is due to poor presentation.
it's not actually hard, it just involves "working different muscles". after all, the ancients
did it well enough, and with an abacus.
i'm currently redoing refresher calculus sequence in local jr. college in preparation
towards the math singlesubject teaching credential for high school level teachers.
i now volunteer in the local schools in math/science classes: i did one semester in the
local 'problem' school, berkeley high school.
that was not what i was expecting [most students
there are confused by '' vs '/']!
i just finshed a year with 5th graders in a 'better' suburbantype school with great racial
diversity.
i found that uniquely rewarding.
i'd say college students ought to be axtively encouraged to teach math; but i never was.
and, i'd just not realized the relevant equations:
need + abilty = vocation.
today i wish i'd begun teaching 20 years ago.
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gpa explain #2
overall my grades have never been strong. i've been motivated by consensus rather
than by competition.
i'm motivated by people and their profound challenges like those in the collapse of
american political culture.
i entered ucb in music in order to encounter profound pedagogy. i was suprised with the
undergrad experience at ucb.
in protest and frustration i droppedout just before graduating and shattered with
emotional issues.
20 years later, 6 years sober and w/ some insight into life vs. fear, i returned to the only
program that would have me.
i repeated the entire ba. my gpa includes more undergrad work than anyone should
account for.
the 'f'grades on my transcript are for classes i never attended.
i'm still processing my feelings for contemporary grading for the the consequences of
the wholesale "social promotion" required of teachers in the 21st century.
with asymptotic trends of grade inflation, and the absolute irrelevance of most undergrad
education in solving the chaotic issues i'll face as a teacher would anything worth
doing or anyone worth knowing reflect on lettergrades?
they are absolutely incidental.
i also notice that teachers tend to have tremendous cultural expectations of student's.
i tended to get mediocre grades when my global pov and my radical approach to
discovery was not appreciated,
while the brightest academics tended to be receptive and gave me high marks.
here is an example of another pov as an issue:
i have a "w" in calculus in a class for which i had a strong 'b' going into the final exam.
unfortunately the professor padded the final for the benefit of rest of the class with a
nuber of basic physics questions topics never lectured upon but designed to provide
'a's for this class of engineering majors.
his concession to me was to offer the choice of a 'd' or a 'w'. i was too frightened to
realize his exam was absolutely at issue.
one thing i did learn: principles must be delivered to students, and delivered where
students will encounter them.
***
gpa explain #1
overall my grades have never been stellar.
i have not been much morivated by symbols such as grades. i am motivated by
profound challenges. challenges available in the organic understanding of
comprehensive systems like the collapse of american political culture.
i entered ucb in a strongly challenging field, in order to encounter the nature of
pedagogy.
not being a musicain, i did the ba in music at berkeley [california]. like many, i was
unpleasantly suprised with the undergrad experience at ucb. in protest and frustration i
dropped out just before graduating with a cocaine and heroin addiction.
20 years later, with 6 years of sobriety and some insight into life, motivated only by the
desire to teach, i returned to the only academic program that would have me.
i repeated the entire ba program....
so my gpa includes far more work than anyone should have to account for.
and, at 40something years old, i was prepared for the crasser politics of the university
and more inclined than ever to do everything to sharpen my awareness and broaden my
experience.
academics are strictly a means to an end with me.
with asymptotic trends of grade inflation
and the irrelevance of most undergrad education for solving the chaotic issues i'll face
as a teacher i'll have a hard time believing that anything worth doing or anyone worth
knowing will care about my gpa. i'm still recognizing and processing my own feelings
around the profound consequences that'll result from the wholesale "social promotion"
of students which will be required of me as a teacher in the 21st century.
there are some f's in my transcript they are for classes that were never attended. one 'f'
is in a graduate seminar i forgot to drop after i was discovered and not permitted to join. i
also have a "w" in calculus for a class i had a solid 'b' in, going into the final exam.
unfortunatley the professor hoped to pad the final for the rest of the class of engineering
majors & included a crucial nuber of basic physics questions from topics he had never
lectured on. his concession to me was to offer me my choice a 'd' or a 'w' when i
showed i'd no idea how to handle freshman physics. i was too frightened to argue.
one thing i have learned: math teaching has generally not done well in this country.
one thing i did learn: math must be delivered to students in this country where students
will discover it.
instead of speaking to shared humanity, we tend to speak to our images in this country.
***
love math; espcially engineering a/k/a "word problems".
as a trained musician, i want to share my entusiasm for the benefits of mathematical
study throughout life.
i think the fear of math in america is due to poor presentation.
it's not actually hard, it just involves "working different muscles". after all, the ancients
did it well enough, and with an abacus.
i'm currently redoing refresher calculus sequence in local jr. college in preparation
towards the math singlesubject teaching credential for high school level teachers.
i now volunteer in the local schools in math/science classes: i did one semester in the
local 'problem' school, berkeley high school.
that was not what i was expecting [most students
there are confused by '' vs '/']!
i just finshed a year with 5th graders in a 'better' suburbantype school with great racial
diversity.
i found that uniquely rewarding.
i'd say college students ought to be axtively encouraged to teach math; but i never was.
and, i'd just not realized the relevant equations:
need + abilty = vocation.
today i wish i'd begun teaching 20 years ago.