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| Mr. Dimmick |
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I had the same math teacher all four years of high school--Mr. Dimmick. He taught math in a very logical and systematic way--just as it should be. He also made it seem like a game. We learned the rules of the game, and then we knew how to play. It seemed as easy as that. And he was very careful to make sure that we knew the rules.
Anyone, who has done much algebra, knows that there can be a lot of steps involved in solving a problem. Mr. Dimmick insisted that we be very systematic with our steps including making the unknown X that we were solving for with a tail. That way it would not be confused with X that was used for multiplication. Now to most, this seemed like an overkill. In fact, I've never run into anyone who had a math teacher who was this strict with the details and steps that needed to be shown in a problem.
However, this attention to detail paid off for me in college. When I was in my first calculus class, there came a point in the middle of the semester where complicated equations had to be broken down algebraically so they could be easily integrated. Most everyone in the class was confused when they were trying to do this. In fact, the teacher handed out worksheets so students could practice algebra again. But I didn't need them. Mr. Dimmick's careful teachings were still with me. Including making a tail on every unknown X in the equations.
I'll have to admit, decades later, I do not remember all of the math that Mr. Dimmick taught me, but I do remember that he taught me well and making my X's with a tail was an important part of that.
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But wait there's more:
I remember a story Mr. Dimmick told one day about his four year old granddaughter. He asked her what zero meant. Her answer was, "That's when you don't hold up any fingers." He had a big grin as he told it and it made me smile too.
When I was being taught algebra, we were told that we could signify multiplication with a dot. This dot would be centered vertically. There was some confusion as everybody adapted from using 'x' to using the dot, but everbody did get the hang of it (as far as I knew).
ReplyDeleteWe then learned that in some cases, the dot can be left out as things are understood to be multiplied e.g. (2x+1)(x-1) ;; 2 and x are being multiplied, as are (2x+1) and (x-1).
Wally
That's interesting. All I remember about your algebra class was that you rarely showed your work on paper because you could do it all in your head. And even though you got the right answer, you didn't get any credit because you didn't show your steps. It drove the teacher and me crazy. It didn't seem to bother you much.
DeleteAwww, were you high school sweethearts?
DeleteI remember using the dot instead of the x for multiplication, and I enjoyed algebra. Geometry was my Waterloo.
Wally is actually my oldest son. Ward is my husband and we didn't meet until grad school.
DeleteOops, I should have known that. The Cleavers were before my time .... that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
DeleteI chose to major in a field in which mathematics class requirements were minimal. Coincidence? I think not. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that that was also a field that you do well. You're doing a lot of good out there.
DeleteI enjoyed math very much in school, as it made sense to me and was logical. We did not get four years of algebra where I went to school, only one, plus geometry. So I was not very prepared for college math. I did take trigonometry in college for one quarter and calculus and I enjoyed trig very much but I remember none of it, I am afraid.
ReplyDeleteI actually had 2 years of algebra, l year of geometry, and 1 year of mathmatical analysis in high school. I'm not sure I remember much of them, though
DeleteWhen I was a teen my dad believed that females should take as many math classes as possible so they could have an equal shot in the job market. ( Since I was the older "trial child" I "got" to take double math classes some years. (If you go to summer school and take social studies classes it frees your schedule for things like math) By the time I was a Senior when everyone else that had gone the summer school route was taking an easy load, I was stuck with calculus and analytical geometry. Major required only Math 101
ReplyDeleteYou're dad had a vision for you and he was right that back in our day, there weren't always equal opportunities for females. What was your major?
DeleteI wished I had an algebra teacher like Mr. Dimmick! Amazing how some things really stick with you!
ReplyDeleteI was very lucky. Not everyone liked him because he was strict, but we were a good fit.
DeleteMath was the bane of my existence in high school. Oh how I wish I'd had a good teacher like Mr. Dimmick. Instead I had a real jerk who would just breeze past stuff that he thought we should know. It was sooo traumatic - as in tears every night level of traumatic. Somehow I managed to suffer through 10th grade Algebra II/trig - and I even got an A. But the way I did it was to memorize the visual patterns of the equations the night before the test, and the steps that you had to do to solve it. I had NO clue what I was doing, it was all just rote memorization, and I couldn't retain that sort of knowledge for more than a few days.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the school had just opened a computer lab, and you could get math credits for taking computer programming classes. I never figured out how that worked because math was like a cryptic torture device from another universe but computer programming made complete intuitive sense to me. Anyhow, Basic & Fortran were my salvation, and I never took another math class again!
Obviously, you had the logic needed for math evidenced by your programming skills. It's too bad that you had such a bad teacher. Once you get behind in math, it's really hard to catch up.
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