Mathematical Autobiography

On the first day of school, we come to math class with baggage: not just pencils and paper, but our previous experiences with math and math classes. To start our class together, I want you to unpack your bags and strew their mess across the page. So that I can teach you better, I want to learn about you, and about your relationship with mathematics. Take some time to reflect on the following questions and use them as inspiration to write a thoughtful autobiographical essay. You don’t need to answer all the questions below, and you can certainly answer questions I didn’t ask; I’m just interested in learning more about you and your relationship with math.

Please write in complete sentences and paragraphs, and make the effort to express complete thoughts. The better I can understand your writing, the better I’ll be able to teach you.

Please don’t use an LLM!!! LLMs are amazing, and I use them all the time, just like you, but for this (and for basically all the stuff we do in our class) I want to be reading you. I care about you as a writer (just as much as I care about you as a mathematician); it’s about the process and not the result. I don’t want something generic and anodyne, either in its content or its form; I want you.

• Overall, how do you feel about math? Have you always felt that way, or were there specific experiences or moments that have given you that feeling? If the latter, what were they, and why were they important?
• What’s been your best experience with math? It could be a particular class, or problem you solved, or book you read, or even a situation outside of class where math really helped you. What made it so good? What were you doing? Be specific: “My teacher was always friendly when I asked for extra help” is more useful than “My teacher was really cool.”
• What’s been your worst experience in math? This could be a particular topic you couldn’t understand, a problem you couldn’t solve, or situation where lack of expertise was embarrassing. What made it so bad? Was it unavoidable, or was there something you could have done differently to make it less awful? What could you do now if the situation came up again? Do you still feel bad about it now, or is it something you can laugh about?
• Is there one particular math problem or topic that you really like? If so, what was it, and why do you like it so much?
• Is there anything you’d like to change about your own approach to mathematics this year? If so, what? What do you want to keep the same about your approach to math?
• In summary, what are one or two adjectives you would use to describe your feelings about mathematics?
• What’s something else I should know about you (or that you want to share)? What are you passionate about? What’s something about you that I wouldn’t know just from seeing your name on a course roster?

Please type it, and turn in a PDF (not a Google Drive link!) on Canvas. I’m imagining this will be a page or two long. This isn’t graded (but it is required); I want to read something thorough and thoughtful, and learn about you and your relationship with math.