Brenda Rose

Wenda wrote (#4, 2849):

"When I was in school, and didn't see any practical use for math, I
> just did the work, got good grades, and quickly forgot any of the
> information."

This reminded me of my favorite John Holt quote about school:
"The child who wants to know something remembers it and uses it once he has
it; the child who lears something to please or appease someone else forgets
it when the need for pleasing or the danger of not appeasing is past... The
only difference between bad and good students in this respect is that the
bad students forget right away, while the good students are careful to wait
until after the exam. If for no other reason we could well afford to throw
out most of what we teach in school because the children throw out almost
all of it anyway." (How Children Fail, 1964, p.175 in my edition).

The middle sentence is actually my favorite! I quote this to lots of
people. I love it!!

Sandra - Thanks for the website for Karl Bunday.
I think of "discrete" math as "concrete" - Maybe it would be "sweet" to be
"discreet" with others. I learned the same thing as brenda about wanting
more dessert (seconds).