Sorry for the delay in updates-I ended up with the flu late last week-missed a few days of work which I am calling my "flu-cation" and have been very busy this week as well...
Some updates on what is happening at TGA-first, the not-so-good news. We found out on Monday that our budget had been cut by ~9% this year due to the extremely low tax revenues for the state. We have been busy looking for places to trim the budget that will have the least impact on our very special program...right now, the major feature that is still in jeopardy is the senior trip to China. However, we are very hopeful that we will still be able to go-we are talking with various depts within UT.
Several students have already written to their state legislatures to let them know how important TGA is to them-I've told them not to ask for money (there just isn't any to be had from the state given the economic condition at this time) but just to keep us in the forefront of folks minds-the need for a school like this here in TN...I will keep everyone up-to-date on our talks with UT in hopes that we can figure out a way to keep the senior trip on the schedule.
Now for the good...We have a "preview" day for potential students this week-we have over 24 students coming from across the state-with many others asking for an alternate date later this year. I asked teachers for some samples of excellent student work to share with these potential students and received some great "stuff." Our students are doing some great work..
Word is definitely spreading about what is going on here...Princeton contacted us and will be visiting to meet with our students interested in attending Princeton. It is pretty gratifying to see this happening!
Our "Dinner with a Mathematician" started last night. Dr. William Wade (pictured above) ate dinner with the seniors, the gave his presentation ....below are some quotes from a few of the students attending.
"I have never known that much into the history of math, and it was really interesting to see where the origins of the formulas we use every day in class" Dara
"Dr. Wade is one of the smartest people I have ever met in real life; he has created many theorems with the help of other mathematicians. Unlike many people who have gained the stature he has in the math community, he remains very humble and down to earth. " Jacob T
"Overall, I think it was a fascinating and rare experience to get to hear someone who has even written their own theorems come and speak." Alex
"The biggest aspect of the night’s speech that struck me was how interesting the fundamental ideas behind math, algebra in particular, were. When Dr. Wade began explaining the order in which different types of math were formulated and the reasons for them, the entire concept of math became easier for me to grasp on a more practical level." Margaret
"If I major in math, I would like to major in math history after last night’s presentation. I was very enthused that somebody who was so knowledgeable in math would take time out of his schedule to come and speak with us." Jake C
"I’m hoping to hear more from them here at TGA, where we have accomplished mathematicians visit us during suppertime." Rodrigo
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