PDA

View Full Version : Appreciation



Wongo
31st October 2006, 10:20 PM
As you know I have been tutoring maths ever since I was a uni student. Tonight it came to the end of another student who will sit in his 3 units maths exam tomorrow.

I started working with his 2 years ago. His mum (neightbour) spoke to me be because he needed help. I coached him an hour every week. At the end of year 11 he was awarded the most improved student in the class. At the end of year 12 he is now the top 5 student in the class.

Tonight we had the last lesson. I actually felt a bit emotional about it. Anyway as I was saying goodbye and giving him encouragement, the mother handed over a present to me. I was shocked I didn’t expect it. I made a smart remark by saying “is it the encyclopaedia of wood?”.

No it wasn’t. It is the book about Sam Maloof, it is the book I have been searching for for a long time. I knew that you cannot get it in Australia so they must have ordered it in from the US.

I was so moved and it almost bought tears to my eyes. Well it makes all the work worthwhile.

Happy reading to me. it is a big book.:)

johnc
31st October 2006, 10:26 PM
Wongo,

Makes it all worth while, especially as they have obviously gone to so much trouble to select it for you. I am probably the worlds worst tutor, but I admire anyone who puts the effort in to help give any kid a leg up.

John.

bitingmidge
31st October 2006, 10:29 PM
Congratulations Scott!!

I think it's fantastic when someone recognises the value of a person to that sort of extent, it's a credit to them as well as you!

Cheers,

P:cool:

scooter
1st November 2006, 12:46 AM
Great story, Scott, what goes around comes around. :)


Cheers..................Sean

silentC
1st November 2006, 08:36 AM
I had my dog tutored a few months ago. He thought he was getting neutered. Or was that the other way around?

On ya Scott. What's the square root of 4,567,234,533,333,123,900.03? No Googling. :p

Wongo
1st November 2006, 08:54 AM
Oh silent, silent, silent :D

Anyway since the number finishes with .03 so it's square root cannot be rational (a bit like me of course:D). The only answer to your question is

(4,567,234,533,333,123,900.03)^1/2 :D

Bloody hell it is a big book with 280 pages.:eek: Sam's the man.:cool:

Cliff Rogers
1st November 2006, 09:10 AM
Good for you Mr. Wong. :)

bennylaird
1st November 2006, 09:15 AM
C'mon Wongo, it's easy the answer for the square root was 42:D :D :D

RufflyRustic
1st November 2006, 09:30 AM
Congrats Wongo! Looking forward to seeing a few Maloof touches in your work.



Cheers
Wendy

jmk89
1st November 2006, 09:37 AM
Occasions like this make it all worthwhile, don't they Scott.
Happy reading.

bennylaird
1st November 2006, 09:46 AM
Your a good man Scott, don't believe all that bad stuff Brendan says about you:D :D :D

sea dragon
1st November 2006, 10:06 AM
You cared, your student was receptive and responsive and they really wanted you to have something special.
A great story to share.
Enjoy the read.

AlexS
1st November 2006, 02:11 PM
Well done Mr. Wong, I'm sure your student will do well. It's great to see appreciation shown with a thoughtful gift like this.

Did you show him how to use a slide rule & log tables?

Wongo
1st November 2006, 02:22 PM
Did you show him how to use a slide rule & log tables?

Log tables??:eek: Are they the same things as the "4 figures tables"?

Well we called them the "4 figure tables" in HK. It is how you find the value of log(x) or cos(x) etc without a calculator.

Man that's so ancient.:o

Rocker
1st November 2006, 02:40 PM
Log tables??:eek: Are they the same things as the "4 figures tables"?

Well we called them the "4 figure tables" in HK. It is how you find the value of log(x) or cos(x) etc without a calculator.

Man that's so ancient.:o

Scott,

We used to call them log tables. I hated them. Hopelessly inaccurate for angles close to zero or 90°. I remember how excited I was when I got my first electonic calculator, in 1972 I think. It cost $90, and all it could do was add, subtract, multiply, and divide; but I thought it was wonderful. I was easily impressed - I saw my first computer in England in the mid-50's. It took a roomfull of glowing valves to do its main trick, which was to tell you your reaction time to the nearest thousandth of a second, after you pushed a button when a red light came on.

Now that you have the Maloof book, I am afraid you are going to find out how derivative my rocker really is:eek:

Rocker

silentC
1st November 2006, 03:03 PM
We had log tables in high school up until 1981 when they brought in the calculator subject. The calculator they pushed did log, sin, cos, stats functions plus a heap of other functions you'd probably never use.

Our maths master had a portable programmable calculator in 1977-78. He was the only person allowed to use it. It was the size of a cash register and it ran on 240 volts. It was programmed by means of a paper tape. He spent hours once creating a loop program, which he had great pride in displaying to us in class one day. It did some calculations that resulted in a random number between 0.1 and 0.111111111 every half second or so, which only ever contained ones below the decimal place. When he turned the thing on it's side, it looked like a digital yo yo. That was the culmination of a degree in mathematics and a year's worth of maths department budget. ;)

Wood Borer
1st November 2006, 03:27 PM
Congratulations to you Scott, your neighbour and the kid you tutored.

There should be more people like the lot of you but then there would be heaps of lawyers, policemen and soldiers on the dole.

Auld Bassoon
1st November 2006, 04:58 PM
Hi Scott,

That's a really good illustration of giving something, and being surprised and charmed by the rewards (and I don't just mean the book, thoughtful and lovely as it was) that can come back.

Obviously the family of your student were pretty impressed, and hopefully he can build on what you've taught him.

Great tale, my friend!

Auld Bassoon
1st November 2006, 05:02 PM
Log tables??:eek: Are they the same things as the "4 figures tables"?

Well we called them the "4 figure tables" in HK. It is how you find the value of log(x) or cos(x) etc without a calculator.

Man that's so ancient.:o

Yep; so ancient I recall using them at school :o

TEEJAY
1st November 2006, 06:13 PM
Wonderful story mister Wongo Maloof - now no dominoing the joints okay :p

Auld Bassoon
1st November 2006, 06:24 PM
Wonderful story mister Wongo Maloof - now no dominoing the joints okay :p

And why not?! Maloof was quite fond of loose tenons! :p :p :p :p :D

TEEJAY
1st November 2006, 06:43 PM
And why not?! Maloof was quite fond of loose tenons! :p :p :p :p :D

:D :D CHOMP ! :D :D

Yeah I know I'm just jealous :p

MajorPanic
1st November 2006, 08:11 PM
Wongo,

YOU are my HERO!! ;) :D

Seriously though Scott, congrats!! http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon14.gif It's a good feeling to see someone you have tutored put it all together & run with it.
It's only happened to me a few times when I was running photography courses.

Now.......how come the attached picture is SMALLER than the thumbnail...:confused: :confused: :confused: