For 25 years, I gave essay assignments to my IB Precalculus and AP Calculus classes to write advice for students in the classes which would follow them. The precalculus students wrote to the next precalculus students; the calculus students wrote to the incoming freshmen whom, for the most part, they would never get to know.
The students generally took the assignments quite seriously, even though some of their comments were written in a tongue-in-cheek style. The title of this section is appropriated from Ian Trulson’s advice to freshmen from 2002, and I think it describes the content quite well.
There are often references to particular teachers who are no longer at the school, so if you’ve never heard of someone, that’s probably why. Also, the course that’s now called IB Precalculus used to be entitled IB Trigonometry and Analytic Geometry, or Trig & Analyt for short.
I am retiring in the spring of 2025, so this endeavor is now complete. It’s been fun, and the advice given by my students has sometimes been truly insightful — legitimately wise. I hope you find something useful here.
Advice to Freshmen
Advice to Precalculus students
Advice to precalculus students, 2025
Advice to precalculus students, 2024
Advice to precalculus students, 2023
Advice to precalculus students, 2022
Advice to precalculus students, 2021
Advice to precalculus students, 2020
Advice to precalculus students, 2019
Advice to precalculus students, 2018
Advice to precalculus students, 2017
Advice to precalculus students, 2016
Advice to precalculus students, 2015
Advice to precalculus students, 2014
Advice to precalculus students, 2013
Advice to precalculus students, 2012
Advice to precalculus students, 2011
Advice to precalculus students, 2010
Advice to precalculus students, 2009
Advice to precalculus students, 2008
Advice to precalculus students, 2007
Advice to precalculus students, 2006
Advice to precalculus students, 2005
Advice to precalculus students, 2003