Monday, September 22, 2008
Wedding Announcement Picts
As most of you know, I'M GETTING MARRIED! ( Okay seriously, if you didn't know that, but DID somehow know this website address I'd be surprised.) Anyway planning a wedding has gotten extremely intense, but we're knocking out our to-do list one day at a time. last saturday my fiance Staci Ardis and I went with a family friend (Amy Reid) to Val Vista Lakes here in Mesa to go take our engagement photos. she's an incredible photographer and we ended up with some great pics. enjoy!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
...so far as math is concerned, "Aunt Sally" can go to hell!
YARGGGGG!! ..... RAAAAA- words cannot describe how I feel right now. I just realized a moment ago that an extremely simple math function taught incorrectly in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has left me screwed over for the past 7-9 years; I've not only failed 2 math classes previous to my current one at MCC but have had years of annoyance, frustration, and a medium to severe feeling of hopelessness that I cannot even begin to describe. in short, I feel like my elementary education was raped. vulgar I know, but it is so severe that the damage seems incomprehensible.
it all comes back to an oh-so-frustrating acronym in Algebra describing order of operations. "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" was meant to describe what functions of algebra should be solved first in order to finish the equation. (P.E.M.D.A.S: Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction). for years I've followed this rule, and the long and short of it is "sometimes you get the right answer". "sometimes you don't". I could never understand why some problems & tests in my Algebra I & II classes were so easy to answer correctly and why some were flat wrong. I ended up failing my algebra II class and dropping it, only to take Math 092 @ Mesa Community College (MCC) last semester and failing/ dropping it as well. my new teacher, Mr. Brenneman (a somewhat eccentric acting 'santa' looking impersonator) teaches 'Basic' math. Painfully slow I might add. he described the "Aunt Sally" method and later explained it's faults. his new system, (a 'nephew' named 'GEMAL') teaches math slightly different. Groups, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction, Left/To/Right.
and all this time I've struggled with Basic Algebra, I've often wondered 'how would I EVER understand Trig, Calculus, etc.' , (especially if I can't pass a Math 092 class...) yikes people. I can't beleive it. "Aunt Sally can go to Hell!"
it all comes back to an oh-so-frustrating acronym in Algebra describing order of operations. "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" was meant to describe what functions of algebra should be solved first in order to finish the equation. (P.E.M.D.A.S: Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction). for years I've followed this rule, and the long and short of it is "sometimes you get the right answer". "sometimes you don't". I could never understand why some problems & tests in my Algebra I & II classes were so easy to answer correctly and why some were flat wrong. I ended up failing my algebra II class and dropping it, only to take Math 092 @ Mesa Community College (MCC) last semester and failing/ dropping it as well. my new teacher, Mr. Brenneman (a somewhat eccentric acting 'santa' looking impersonator) teaches 'Basic' math. Painfully slow I might add. he described the "Aunt Sally" method and later explained it's faults. his new system, (a 'nephew' named 'GEMAL') teaches math slightly different. Groups, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction, Left/To/Right.
and all this time I've struggled with Basic Algebra, I've often wondered 'how would I EVER understand Trig, Calculus, etc.' , (especially if I can't pass a Math 092 class...) yikes people. I can't beleive it. "Aunt Sally can go to Hell!"
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