Worried

I'm a bit worried about my Calculus class. I think maybe I put too much fear into them. In the first week, I've had five students drop the class. Yesterday and today, the 20 who remain have been frustrated, exhausted, and understandably upset. I think that we'll make it through this rough start, but I don't know if everyone will stick it out.

Anyway, next week, I'm diving straight in with derivation, using the velocity/acceleration idea as a hook. I want to give them something more fun to do, to keep them engaged, and I want to get straight down to finding derivatives (after all, the power rule is so simple, it'll be bound to give them some success). Also, I believe that calculus operations can be taught to students who do not have the pre-calc functions. So, here's where we find out...

Responsible risk-taking, they said back in normal school...