When I enrolled at Auburn University in the fall of 1972, I signed up for 21 hours of classes. In retrospect, that seems like too many classes, but I was confident. I’d made a 28 on the ACT, which was good, not great, for the time. I skipped college algebra and enrolled in MH161, aka Freshman Calculus I.
I attended the class in the basement of Parker Hall on campus. I didn’t bother studying because I rarely studied in high school. Long story short, I fell way behind in the class, failed some tests, missed the date I could drop the course, and finally just stopped showing up. During pre-college counseling, they told us never to stop showing up for a class, but that’s what I did. When I received my grades in the mail, the F looked pretty awful.
A few terms later, I took freshman algebra, actually studied, and made an A with the highest-grade average in the class. Then I took a freshman probability class, studied some more, and made another high A. At that point, I thought I was through with college math and was planning to get a degree in music (I didn’t).
One day I saw former high school classmate Bob H on the Auburn University campus. Bob was excited because he’d just made an A in MH161, the class I’d flunked. I was inspired and decided if he could make an A in Calculus, maybe I could at least pass the course.
I signed up for MH161 again. The teacher was a quiet man named Dr. Smith. He started writing on the board, and I was instantly lost. I vaguely recognized the material from when I flunked the class before. I hadn’t understood it then and didn’t understand the second time. After a few days, I decided I was never going to learn calculus and was ready to drop the class. I stopped by to see Dr. Smith at his office and told him I was lost. He slowly went over the material for me, and suddenly something clicked in my head, and I understood what he was saying. I didn’t know it at the time, but this brief meeting with Dr. Smith changed my life drastically. I stayed in the class. I made an A and had one of the highest grade averages in the class. I enjoyed it so much I signed up for Freshman Calculus II, which I breezed through. About a year later, I changed my major to mathematics.
Decades later, I told this story to Bob, and he admitted he’d also flunked that calculus class the first time he took it.
Eventually, the math classes became increasingly difficult, and by the time I was in my senior year, I was struggling to keep up though I managed to pass every course (some barely) and graduate. After graduation, I was sure I would not study math in graduate school. Okay, I haven’t enrolled in graduate school (yet), but if I ever do (doubtful), no more math.
I took a few required computer programming classes while working on my degree. After graduation, I began working as a computer analyst. I rarely thought about math and began to forget much of it. I looked through some of my old class notes years later, and much of it was a blur. I couldn’t pass a Calculus test now if my life depended on it, though I’m pretty sure I could retake the classes and relearn the material.