Lesson #167 The Last Day of Calculus

Final Quotes of the Year:
"One's work may be finished some day, but one's education 
   never."     -- Alexandre Dumas

"He who laughs, lasts." -- Mary Pettibone Poole

"Man can not discover new oceans unless he has the courage 
   to lose sight of the shore."  -- Andre Gide

Click here for a comic strip about the final day of math class


1. Some advice, as you prepare to graduate…

	(1) Discover your passion, and build your life around 
            it.  For it is in doing what you really enjoy that 
            you will experience true happiness.

 	(2) Dream big dreams and commit yourself to those 
            dreams.  Be willing to take some risks.        

 	(3) If you get homesick or experience some difficult
            times in college, just work a little harder.  
            Concentrating on your studies will help take your 
            mind off your homesickness.
	    Remember St. Paul's words in Romans 8:28, "All 
            things work together for good to them that love 
            God."  Things will work out for the best.

	(4) Don't forget to call home.  Your momma needs to 
            hear from you.

	(5) Keep your sense of humor.  As Jimmy Buffet said,
            "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane."

                Don't forget to take a break from summer vacation!


2. Some blunt advice for Graduates from Bill Gates

Rule 1 - Life is not fair; get used to it.

Rule 2 - The world won't care about your self-esteem.  
         The world will expect you to accomplish 
         something before you feel good about 
         yourself.

Rule 3 - You will not make $40,000 a year right out of 
         high school. You won't be vice president with 
         a car phone until you earn both. 

Rule 4 - If you think the teacher is tough, wait until 
         you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

Rule 5 - If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, 
         so don't whine about your mistakes - learn 
         from them.

Rule 6 - Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. 
         Your grandparents had a different word for 
         burger-flipping; they called it
         "opportunity."

Rule 7 - Before you were born, your parents weren't as 
         boring as they are now. They got that way 
         from paying your bills, washing your clothes, 
         and listening to you talk about how cool you 
         are. Thus, before you save the rain forest 
         from the parasites of your parents'
         generation, try delousing the closet in your 
         own room.

Rule 8 - Your school may have done away with winners 
         and losers, but life has not. In some 
         schools, they have abolished failing grades 
         and they'll give you as many times as you 
         want to get the right answer. This doesn't 
         bear the slightest resemblance to anything in 
         real life.

Rule 9 - Life is not divided into semesters. You don't 
         get summers off and very few employers are 
         interested in helping you find yourself. Do 
         that on your own time.

Rule 10 - Television is not real life. In real life, 
          people actually have to leave the coffee 
          shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 - Be nice to nerds. Chances are, you'll end up 
          working for one.



3. Don't worry about me:

   "Old teachers never die; they just lose their class."

   "Old math teachers never die, they just tend to 
    infinity."

   "Old math teachers never die; they just pass into 
    another sphere."

        Click here to see what will happen to Mr. P

4. But you need to worry about this ...

        Click here to see what may happen at graduation

   
5. My final advice for you is the same advice I gave you on 
   the first day of school:

       The three biggest factors in being successful in college are:
	ATTITUDE, WORK ETHIC, and ATTENDANCE.

        (1) "Be Positive." 
            "Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it."
             -- Charles Swindoll
     
        (2) "Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration."

            "I do not believe in the gifted.  If [the students] have ganas 
             [Spanish for desire], I can make them do it." – Jaime Escalante

            "There is no Royal Road to Geometry." -- Euclid

        (3) You can't learn it if you're not here ...
            Go to class everyday!        


6. And so I leave you with the words of Buzz Lightyear,
   "To infinity and beyond!"


7. Some activities:
   (1) Mobius Strip

   (2) Mobius Card
 
   (3) Card Trick – Arrange the 13 cards of one suit in 
       your hand so that when you deal a card then burn a 
       card, then deal a card, then burn a card, you will  
       get the 13 cards in order:  
       A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K

   (4) Calculus Definitions 

   (5) Math Aptitude Test