higher level math

"I'm in over my head." That's what I thought during our first small group activity of AP Institute. My groupmates tackled the limits problems - a pre-calculus concept, I might add - deftly, while I looked over their shoulder and tried to keep pace with their scratchwork.

Later on, it occurred to me that many math students feel the way I just did, and even this realization will help me teach better. So far, AP Calculus training has been excellent. After dinner and the much needed decompress period, I pulled out my textbook and began reviewing trig and working out the limit problems myself. It's been a decade since I last did higher level math, but you know what, it IS beautiful.

My training lasts all week, and I have the best accommodations thanks to Mo, Bouchra, and especially Mo's mother. She welcomed me yesterday evening with a refrigerator stocked with healthy foods, a counter-top of snacks, and dinner!