For many years, I have given 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 write to the next precalculus students; the calculus students write to the incoming freshmen whom, for the most part, they will never get to know.
The students generally take the assignments quite seriously, even though some of their comments are 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. If you keep at the program long enough (and I don’t fall behind again), you may one day find your sage musings posted here, too.
Advice to Freshmen
Advice to Precalculus students
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