I was raised in an abusive middle class household. My parents were not well educated. When I took the ACT test in 1975, neither my parents nor I even knew what the hell it was. I made a 23. I went to a unremarkable Tier 4 college because my friend was going there. I paid for it working as an "auger boy" on a gravel drilling rig for a concrete company for five years. I failed college algebra twice. I was put on academic suspension, and somehow talked my way back in. I made a C in algebra, a C in trig, and then took calculus from a handicapped polio survivor named Mr. Treese (not a PhD) who could barely walk or speak clearly. He had zero patience for bullshit but for some reason he liked me. After taking three classes from Mr Treese he suggested that I should enter the Math dept's annual calculus contest (I was a geology major). I actually won the contest (and a $60 check!). Afterward, I never made a grade lower than an A, and eventually moved on to earn an MS in CS. Today I think he was probably the single most influential person in my life.
Today we have two daughters who are both completing science PhD's funded with fellowships. I paid for their undergraduate education at Tier 1 schools but they have done the rest on their own without loans. You can bet your life that they knew what an SAT test was when they took it. All their lives we've told them that they were definitely very smart but that it just doesn't matter, that IQ is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is what you do, not how smart you are.
(I remembered this story because Mr Treese didn't care much for the idea that a "number series" problem has a "best" solution.)
This is a wonderful story. I think it highlights how important it is to have parents support you (mine would buy me books and take me to the library and entertain long, rambling thoughts in the car) and to have teachers and professors support you.
Thanks for your kind comment. I've thought of Mr. Treese often during my life. Here's an anecdote about him that's always cracked me up: One time he called on a student who wasn't, as usual, paying attention, asked him a math question, and the student gave a rude reply, "Your guess is as good as mine."
Mr. Treese fixed his eyes on him, gave him that crooked grin of his and said, "No that's incorrect. My guess would be much better than yours."
Today we have two daughters who are both completing science PhD's funded with fellowships. I paid for their undergraduate education at Tier 1 schools but they have done the rest on their own without loans. You can bet your life that they knew what an SAT test was when they took it. All their lives we've told them that they were definitely very smart but that it just doesn't matter, that IQ is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is what you do, not how smart you are.
(I remembered this story because Mr Treese didn't care much for the idea that a "number series" problem has a "best" solution.)