In the space of one hundred and seventy six years, the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that in the old oolitic silurian period, just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi river was upwards of one million three hundred miles long, and stuck out over the gulf of Mexico like a fishing rod. And by the same token any person can see that seven hundred forty two years from now the Lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three quarters long, and Cairo and New Orleans will have joined their streets together, and be plodding comfortably along under a single mayor and a mutual board of aldermen. There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholescale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.
School classrooms can be exceedingly difficult places in which to learn mathematics well.
Teachers vary in passion and ability (as is natural); class behaviour and attitudes (and bullying) can alter the learning environment radically; learning in a large group at the same speed and with little opportunity to receive one-on-one help leads to boredom or frustration for many/most students; textbooks vary in quality and frequently lack stimulating material (because publishers restrict the size of the books); and sometimes students are negatively influenced by parents and peers who share their own bad experiences or attitudes.
Home educators, too, often feel that they lack sufficient understanding to teach their children mathematics … and the resources that they have access to can sometimes be bland, unstimulating, and even poorly explained or constructed.
My wife and I home educated our daughter and I have taught and tutored mathematics for many years. I am aware of the difficulties listed above and have often been asked by students and parents to create a website to share my understanding and resources with others. Crystal Clear Mathematics is the result.
Because this medium is not interactive (in the sense of allowing immediate interaction between you and me) I cannot provide the quality of tutition that I would like to offer you … but I hope you find the videos and the supporting files to be useful none-the-less.
This website and its associated FaceBook page and YouTube channel were all launched on Tuesday 20 November 2012.
I have been watching your “Integration technique” videos with high expectation and excitement. They never fail to give me a lot of joy and much pleasure. You must have been one hell of teacher at your time! … just continue making highly enjoyable and intellectually stimulating videos. … Unfortunately, what you learn at the university, you hardly ever see again in your office job. That is why I try to repeat some thing I learned: to enjoy it a bit more, to marvel upon beauty, and to keep my brain sharp. There is where your videos come in perfectly: interesting, amusing and thought provoking problems neatly presented. … You do your best to share your passion, knowledge and experience. The least I can do is to say an honest “Thank you!” As I said, your videos give me much pleasure. You may freely let other people know that. … Rest assured that I shall be watching your videos in the future. With joy and excitement. And I shall comment on them from time to time. You just continue making them.
Zoran V (in private correspondence via YouTube, quoted with permission)
