STEVE SVETLIK DEPARTMENT CHAIR, MATHEMATICS AND CS BACHELOR OF SCIENCE – SECONDARY MATH EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-CHICAGO MASTER OF SCIENCE – COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPAUL UNIVERSITY MASTER OF ARTS – EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION OLIVET-NAZARENE UNIVERSITY CURRENT COURSE ASSIGNMENTS: AP COMPUTER SCIENCE Welcome to Deerfield H.S. Open House

It’s good to see all of you here. Welcome. I’ d like to share with you a few of my favorite thoughts and quotes related to my job that I hope will give you a bit of perspective of who I am, why I love my job here, and most importantly, what I hope your child will gain as a result of being my student this year. (Most of these quotes were donated to me by students over the years. I’ve learned much about life from my students.)

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.” - Galileo (One of the most famous and brilliant Italian mathematicians of his era)

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “Make your life a mission, not an intermission.” - Arnold Glasgow

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “Excellence is what we repeatedly do. Therefore, success is not an act, but rather a habit.” - Aristotle (Donated by a student in a Spring 2002 section of Algebra 2 Survey)

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said, “one cannot believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (Did you know that Carroll’s real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodson, and he was actually well-recognized for being a successful English mathematician and logician?)

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “If I feel unhappy, I do mathematics to become happy. If I am happy, I do mathematics to keep happy.” - Paul Turan

(Okay, I’ll admit it. Usually when I use that quote in class most students look at me like I’m nuts.)

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind.” - William Jones

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a creator of patterns. Her patterns, like the painter or poet, must be beautiful. There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics” - G.H. Hardy

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “The greatest mistake you can make is being afraid to make one.” - Author Unknown

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.” - Jessica Guidobono

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “Half this game is 90% mental.” - Yogi Berra

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “The only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics.” - Paul Halmos

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “The first problem for all of us is not to learn, but to unlearn.” - Author Unknown

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “Think of math like this: Math is to your mind what about 40 good bench presses per week is to your chest.” - Author Unknown

(Okay, I’ll confess... I actually made that one up, but it sounds just so darned corny..)

Quotes You May You Enjoy, Too (Version 2.0) “You might never use what you learned in this class, but you certainly won’t use what you choose not to learn in this class.” - Author Unknown

(Okay. Sorry. That one’s mine as well…)