Art Kalish
Calculus BC
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Calculus BC
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Some thoughts about education and learning:

Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.

Education is man's going forward from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty.

The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done.

Only the curious will learn and only the resolute will overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient.

An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't.

Course Material

Prerequisites
Successful completion of Math Theory Honors?!?!? (Are you still breathing?) Ownership and a working knowledge of the TI-86 or TI-89 Graphing Calculator.
Expectations
A desire to learn all of the intricate and exciting aspects of calculus and to do this at a pace that would exhaust Superman. A willingness to strive to understand the conceptual aspects of the material and to become skilled at the manipulation of the fundamental processes.
Requirements
Spiral notebook, pen/pencil, TI-xx, and covered textbook or current problem set brought to class daily.
Responsibilities
Completion of all daily homework assignments to the best of your ability. When this drops below the 75% mark you should get help from your friends or your teacher. I am available for extra help every morning from 7 to 7:30 but the burden is yours. You must ask for the help. Group homework sessions are mandatory on a weekly basis. In all cases, pre-exam study groups are a requirement for success and should take place a day or two before the exam. Expect to take the A.P. Exam in May ... you will all do well with appropriate effort, diligence, persistence, and devotion.
Examinations
Generally there will be three or four major tests per marking period. Along with these you might have one or two small quizzes. These will all be announced in advance. You are expected to make up missed exams the day you return from your absence (exceptions for extended absence). Every exam should be corrected and returned to me within one week after you received the graded paper (staple corrections on top of the original exam). The corrected exams are expected to be perfect. Each student should keep these corrected exams in a portfolio in order to prepare for both the midterm and final exams.
Attendance
Do not miss a day for any reason. Your presence is required on a daily basis. Come in prepared and on time. We have 3 semesters of calculus to cover in 2 semesters.
Grades
About 80% of the quarter grade is based on exams and 20% on class involvement, major project, and homework assignments. Just total all your grades (numerators) and divide by the total number of possible points (denominators). This gives you a percentage that is converted into a letter grade. A scaling of grades will be performed after quarterly averages are determined.

Extra Help is always available. If you can do the problems but feel you do not have a complete understanding of the material come in to discuss it with me.