most of our teachers then did. I could still remember when he shared with us his secret in memorizing formulas: “Sing the formula.” I really did not get it at first. Like, how could I sing the formula? Then I realized what he meant. You make the formula the lyrics, and then put in any melody that suits. Try it, it works. He also lent us a copy of Mathematica , a software which he used during his studies at Ateneo, for us to appreciate the lessons better. He taught us how to use it, showed us the beauty of mathematics, and made us experience the fun of learning. He did not stop with just telling and showing—he involved us. The Chinese proverb says, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” So, we remem- bered, and we understood.
He brought our teaching and learning
relationship to the next level,
that of friendship.
He made mathematics really fun. Believe it or not, he developed two games related to the subject just to make students get involved and be interested. One is Erleo’s 357, and the other Math Scrabble. I did not try playing Erleo’s 357 for I was really fascinated with Math Scrabble, which was inspired by the board games Scrabble and Sci-Damath, which I both love. Instead of letters on the tiles, he put algebraic expressions and mathematical operations.
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