Re: Socialism in SF

Michael Stemper <mstemper@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article <gqem3k$5am$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, nance@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Anthony Nance) writes:

No - nowadays more come into college having had calculus experience
in high school than ever before. But that's the rub - it used to be
more likely some years ago (vs nowadays) that if you had calculus in
high school, you probably learned a great deal of it. Nowadays,
especially with the super-expansion in the offering of AP Calculus,
many students come in with some calculus who know little more than
what they've been trained to regurgitate for some exam (e.g. AP).
Worse, since they think they know stuff, helping them to learn (or often,
unlearn) things is often worse than if they'd come in with a blank slate.

Okay, a question for the trained professional. As I mentioned cross-thread,
my son didn't take AP calc, but had me home-school him in it. He knows,
and can work with, the delta-epsilon definition of limit. He knows, and
can work with, the limit definition of derivative. How does this compare
to what he would have learned if he had taken AP calc?

Yeah, I almost replied to your other note on two topics, one*** to the
effect that you shouldn't worry yourself on what you may see as your
son's missed opportunity or your (probably incorrectly) perceived
shortcomings on doing it yourself. While there is a core amount of
stuff you'd want students to learn in a differential calculus course,
in some sense, the real goal is to get them to start becoming a
craftsman using this set of tools. If they can understand it, start
to apply it, then the core stuff almost comes along for the ride,
and with much deeper knowledge to boot.

If your son understands what you mention above (along with a few
other things you're obviously aware of), then he's in great shape.
Said better, all students who have had calculus have their own
personal set of holes and gaps, and it seems likely your son would
have no more of those, and likely even fewer.

***The other thing I almost said was more softly put, but it clearly
amounted to a general swipe at AP, which was too broad-brushed,
unfairly denigrating the good teachers (and students) out there
doing good things.

Note: Things are a bit more complicatd then I've let on. For example,
AP calculus now comes in flavors AB and BC, the latter being more
topics and more deeply, and the former being more widely taken by
high schoolers.

Tony
.

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