When I took calculus in high school, I didn’t understand a single concept. By the grace of an extremely generous teacher, I marginally passed the class. In college, I got through three levels of calculus, but I didn’t understand anything.
During my second attempt at learning Calculus III, I listened as the professor described missile trajectories and satellite positioning, and I asked myself: “I’m a bio major, when am I going to launch a missile!?”
Today I teach biology at a private high school in New York City; I’ve also taught math for the past six years.
I no longer struggle to understand the fundamental concepts of calculus, but I’ve chosen not to teach the course. Instead, I developed a “math applications” class specifically for high school students who are not “calculus bound.”
Selim Tlili is a high school science teacher at The Ramaz School in New York City. He earned his bachelor’s in biology from SUNY Geneseo and his master’s in public health from Hunter College. Follow his writing at selim.digital.
This story about statistical literacy was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.
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