Hollyer Than Thou

This being the start of shopping period here at Brown, I have had the pleasure to sit through a lot of third-semester calculus classes in hopes of discovering the best teacher.

So far I am familiar with the two professors of Math 18, the standard-issue course, one of whom is probably OK but teaches at 9 am on Mondays (big negative) and who also gave me a hard time when asking for an override so that I can register.

The next Math 18 teacher I saw seemed competent and interesting. She launched into a series of very simplified examples answering, “What is Multivariable Calculus?” I appreciated this, as it greatly clarified my perception of the subject. I asked for an override, was granted one, and am registered.

But! Then at lunch, a friend told me upon hearing this professor’s name, “She SUCKS! People in her class would come to my professor’s just to understand what was going on last year.”

Hearing that, I ran to the Math 35 room, where a more theoretical form of multivariable calculus is taught, and was roundly overwhelmed by the explosion of new symbols this teacher put on the board. Clearly the most cerebral class. Ai, ai, ai.

I want a good teacher. I don’t want to be drowned. I want to understand, and I want to understand without too much pain or running around to different classes.

0_o