Skip to main content

Doing Math is like Doing Girls

Bismillah.

For the past four weeks, I have been working as a math college assistant or TA at John Jay College (CUNY) [Thank you Miss Radhika Chugh]. In a short time, as usual, I've become attached. Although most of my students are entering freshmen, there are moments when I feel incredibly old. For example, when I look at math problems like systems of equations, and basic algebra from junior high school, I feel overwhelmed by the educational gap. They are surprised to learn that I am a Philosophy major and not a math major. "But you're so good at math," they insist. I want to say, "No, y'all are just very bad at math." Instead, I say, "I've had a really good foundation, so I just remember everything."

There are other times that the age gap is nonexistent because of my late birthday. For example, Ivan Perez, a handsome (Virgo) boy of 19, sits in the back staring at math problems until the answers magically appear before his eyes. He writes in pencil, with small, soft letters. We make each other laugh. I attack his cockiness, and he defends it. It's a good cycle. Yesterday, he talked about his young girlfriend of 18. The last person to offer girlfriend advice, I nevertheless shared my simple thoughts with him. In fact, I described to him why being a good math student is not unlike being a good boyfriend. Here's why:

1. Both math and girls require effort and hard work.
2. "Math is not a spectator sport"--Professor Toplan. I would add: Women are not for spectatorship.
3. Math and girls (or relationships) require time. You must be willing to set aside time to practice with them each day, or every other day, or as frequently as possible.
4. Both math and girls require great ingenuity. You must often be creative in generating solutions to problems that arise.
5. Both require patience.
6. You should be willing to try a variety of problems. Likewise, you should be willing to try a variety of girls.

I jotted these notes in his notebook, which is empty because he does not see the need to take notes. Cockiness, in fact, is a prevalent attitude in many of the boys I've met here. I find it amusing. In my second period class, Nifa (another student) and I have renamed one of the boys Anger Man and Cocky Boy. He sits in the corner with his rap music turned up extremely high, not being overtly disrepectful to Professor Chugh, but not being respectful either. I had a talk with him about his lack of effort, more as his older sister than a TA. I realized he attitude is more a manifestation of his boredom than anything else. He asked me to transfer to John Jay.

I like the fuzzy roles I play in these classrooms, as a friend, motivator, and tutor to these students.

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8/10/2005

    -good premise...the characters introduced are intriguing...however, I feel that the main thread of the piece, the correlation between math and females, could have been drawn a bit stronger from beginning to end...i feel like near the end it was lost--you did not follow through or tie it up at the end...furthermore, the listing of the comparisons between girls and math--though interesting--could have been more varied...many of them sound similar, and could have been given more effort. Overall, I applaud this piece of writing. Maybe next time all the pieces of the equation will come together for a more favorable solution.

    peace,

    Musa
    (commented under durress)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Not Friendship (Revised)- Repost

It is difficult to be merely a friend to a boy who seems more suitable as a husband than a friend. To reduce a potential life partner to a friend is immature and selfish. Friendship is the not the greatest type of relationship, but it is the safest. Friendship allows you to be intimate without the messiness of other things, like physical attraction, etc. Between friends, there is a warm permanence, a fuzziness that can be called appreciation and gratitude. There is also comfort and trust. Friendship is great if only for the possibility that one can know the beauty of another human being. The possibility of that is worth the difficulty of all else. But sometimes friendship is not enough. Sometimes, to reduce someone to friend when he should be much more is an affront to the opportunity God has presented before you. It is like saying to him, I know that we are amazing together, but we should be friends because I am a dumbass. To reduce him to friend also precludes the possibility of love...
Malcolm Gladwell. "Getting In: The Social Logic of Ivy Leage Admissions" http://www.gladwell.com/2005/2005_10_10_a_admissions.html Major themes: 1. Passion is a significant contributor to success. 2. High intelligence means little without discipline and passion. "Bowen and Shulman write about the characteristics that make athletes more coveted by Ivy League schools: One of these characteristics can be thought of as drive--a strong desire to succeed and unswerving determination to reach a goal, whether it be winning the next game or closing a sale. Similarly, athletes tend to be more energetic than the average person, which translates into an ability to work hard over long periods of time--to meet, for example, the workload demands placed on young people by an investment bank in the throes of analyzing a transaction. In addition, athletes are more likely than others to be highly competitive, gregarious and confident of their ability to work well in groups (on teams). I ...

Re: Your Inquiries

"You confuse yourselves with your actions, even with your thoughts. You barely understand that in order to be, it should not be necessary to act, and that the world changes you far more than you change it." (Malraux, The Temptation of the West, 1961 ) The world consists of wonderful people who enter and exit your life. When you let them enter, your breaths seem more thoughtful, your behaviors more scrutinized, your ideas challenged, and sometimes your brain orgasms from happiness. But when these individuals leave, you experience equally significant things like confusion and hurt. It seems okay to let someone in, someone trustworthy, good, honest, and not concern yourself with the end. As things exist in your mind, there is no harm. Intellectual promiscuity, then, is not so bad. To have intimate, intelligent conversations into the morning is not troubling, either. Sometimes when good people enter, it is not necessary to act, or specifically to resist. When people enter, their ...