Writing Good, Tired Bad
Why can I only write like this the night before the paper is due?
The fellowship in question is for graduating seniors from Haverford who are planning on going on to do graduate study. The question is basically, "What are your graduate study plans and professional career goals, and what extracurriculars did you do?" Here's what I wrote (revised from a much much different first draft):
As students and educators, how often have we struggled to express our arguments in a clear and logical manner? What we may see as an insightful progression, others may view as a muddled mess. In every field, the ability to mount a convincing and logical argument is of paramount importance. For me, as a student of mathematics, there is a consistent structure in place in which to do so. Axioms, concept definitions, lemmas, and theorems combine to form a proof by guiding the reader from each step to the next. If you miss one step, the whole argument falls apart. Obviously, not everyone is a mathematician, but how are these components any different from the notions of assumptions, defining one's terms, evidence analysis, and thesis that we find in other disciplines? It is my belief that these common mathematical building blocks, along with the skills of how to structure them into a coherent proof (i.e. an argument), can be applied to whatever students choose to do. For this reason, I believe that the best impact I can make in the world is to be a teacher of mathematics.
I have been accepted to Ph.D. programs in Mathematics at two top-15 schools in that field (UCLA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison). I intend to study the fields of Algebra and Number Theory, which are considered more "pure" mathematical fields. Most mathematical news that reaches the public focuses on "applied" mathematics, where the goal is to apply the solution to a problem (a "product") to another research field, like Physics or Engineering. However, the applications of Algebra and Number Theory arise in everyday life. The process of correctly describing, setting up, and solving a common "mathematical" problem (e.g. figuring out a price after a discount) is something that everyone does each day, with varying degrees of success. Many students were taught mathematics as a memorization exercise (e.g. for this type of problem, follow this algorithm), without a deeper understanding or justification of why they are doing what they are doing. As a teacher, my goals would be to promote such a deeper understanding and to teach students to explain and justify their problem-solving processes. These skills will directly translate into the ability to justify arguments they wish to make in any discipline. This philosophy will also show students that having a great product (i.e. a "correct" answer) requires a sound process behind it. In other words, my goal is to teach not just mathematics, but also critical thinking, logic, and different ways to think about the world.
My passion for teaching manifested itself at Haverford through my experiences of being a tutor and Teaching Assistant for the Math Department and my work in the Writing Center. I discovered that, while I get a lot of personal satisfaction from learning something for myself, I get even more when I help someone else learn it. I was also privileged to serve as an HCO and Co-Chair of Honor Council, positions in which I also saw myself as a community educator. However, in all of these roles, I acted as a guide for students as opposed to an instructor. These experiences helped me to develop the piece of my educational philosophy that I described above.
There are plenty of graduate students and professors who are brilliant researchers in their fields but who can't explain anything to their students. I refuse to become one of them. In addition, I will also take time off from academia to teach high school students. I was very privileged to have had well-qualified and passionate math teachers, and I want to give other students the same opportunities that I did as a result. As part of my Education minor, I spend several hours a week in a Math classroom at a Philadelphia public school. Unfortunately, the teacher with whom I work does not have the deep understanding of mathematics necessary to truly explain what she is trying to teach to her students. Thus, in a system already rife with inequality, they fall further behind. Teaching high school will be my way of returning to society what it gave to me. By teaching at both levels during my career as an educator, I will accomplish both aspects of a Haverford education: the ability to lead society, and the desire to serve it, too.
If you see any typos, let me know now, cuz it's due at noon tomorrow.
Now, I also have to write a 1-page French response paper, but I'm going to do that tomorrow after my 9:30 meeting. I'm meeting with the prof after class to talk about the paper due Friday, so, after I'm done writing this, I'm going to review the book I'm going to write it on to come up with an idea.
L.A. was amazing. It was great to see Christina and Mike again, and my concerns about the department being too big were alleviated. The professors I met were also really awesome, and they seem to really want me to come. They also told me about this 5 week summer program they run that pays an additional $3,000 stipend. How can I pass that up? I don't think I can. Plus, having friends there already is a huge bonus. I'm tempted to e-mail them now and say that I'm going, but I really should wait until I hear back from everywhere. Not that I think somewhere else will top their offer, but still.
I found Naruto and NGE online today through Wirehog. If you are a college student and you have facebook, sign up for Wirehog. It is goodness.
OK, time for bed-like activity.
The fellowship in question is for graduating seniors from Haverford who are planning on going on to do graduate study. The question is basically, "What are your graduate study plans and professional career goals, and what extracurriculars did you do?" Here's what I wrote (revised from a much much different first draft):
As students and educators, how often have we struggled to express our arguments in a clear and logical manner? What we may see as an insightful progression, others may view as a muddled mess. In every field, the ability to mount a convincing and logical argument is of paramount importance. For me, as a student of mathematics, there is a consistent structure in place in which to do so. Axioms, concept definitions, lemmas, and theorems combine to form a proof by guiding the reader from each step to the next. If you miss one step, the whole argument falls apart. Obviously, not everyone is a mathematician, but how are these components any different from the notions of assumptions, defining one's terms, evidence analysis, and thesis that we find in other disciplines? It is my belief that these common mathematical building blocks, along with the skills of how to structure them into a coherent proof (i.e. an argument), can be applied to whatever students choose to do. For this reason, I believe that the best impact I can make in the world is to be a teacher of mathematics.
I have been accepted to Ph.D. programs in Mathematics at two top-15 schools in that field (UCLA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison). I intend to study the fields of Algebra and Number Theory, which are considered more "pure" mathematical fields. Most mathematical news that reaches the public focuses on "applied" mathematics, where the goal is to apply the solution to a problem (a "product") to another research field, like Physics or Engineering. However, the applications of Algebra and Number Theory arise in everyday life. The process of correctly describing, setting up, and solving a common "mathematical" problem (e.g. figuring out a price after a discount) is something that everyone does each day, with varying degrees of success. Many students were taught mathematics as a memorization exercise (e.g. for this type of problem, follow this algorithm), without a deeper understanding or justification of why they are doing what they are doing. As a teacher, my goals would be to promote such a deeper understanding and to teach students to explain and justify their problem-solving processes. These skills will directly translate into the ability to justify arguments they wish to make in any discipline. This philosophy will also show students that having a great product (i.e. a "correct" answer) requires a sound process behind it. In other words, my goal is to teach not just mathematics, but also critical thinking, logic, and different ways to think about the world.
My passion for teaching manifested itself at Haverford through my experiences of being a tutor and Teaching Assistant for the Math Department and my work in the Writing Center. I discovered that, while I get a lot of personal satisfaction from learning something for myself, I get even more when I help someone else learn it. I was also privileged to serve as an HCO and Co-Chair of Honor Council, positions in which I also saw myself as a community educator. However, in all of these roles, I acted as a guide for students as opposed to an instructor. These experiences helped me to develop the piece of my educational philosophy that I described above.
There are plenty of graduate students and professors who are brilliant researchers in their fields but who can't explain anything to their students. I refuse to become one of them. In addition, I will also take time off from academia to teach high school students. I was very privileged to have had well-qualified and passionate math teachers, and I want to give other students the same opportunities that I did as a result. As part of my Education minor, I spend several hours a week in a Math classroom at a Philadelphia public school. Unfortunately, the teacher with whom I work does not have the deep understanding of mathematics necessary to truly explain what she is trying to teach to her students. Thus, in a system already rife with inequality, they fall further behind. Teaching high school will be my way of returning to society what it gave to me. By teaching at both levels during my career as an educator, I will accomplish both aspects of a Haverford education: the ability to lead society, and the desire to serve it, too.
If you see any typos, let me know now, cuz it's due at noon tomorrow.
Now, I also have to write a 1-page French response paper, but I'm going to do that tomorrow after my 9:30 meeting. I'm meeting with the prof after class to talk about the paper due Friday, so, after I'm done writing this, I'm going to review the book I'm going to write it on to come up with an idea.
L.A. was amazing. It was great to see Christina and Mike again, and my concerns about the department being too big were alleviated. The professors I met were also really awesome, and they seem to really want me to come. They also told me about this 5 week summer program they run that pays an additional $3,000 stipend. How can I pass that up? I don't think I can. Plus, having friends there already is a huge bonus. I'm tempted to e-mail them now and say that I'm going, but I really should wait until I hear back from everywhere. Not that I think somewhere else will top their offer, but still.
I found Naruto and NGE online today through Wirehog. If you are a college student and you have facebook, sign up for Wirehog. It is goodness.
OK, time for bed-like activity.