When it comes to my favourite math teacher, I always have this professor on my mind. He taught me MATH 320 & MATH 321 at UBC, which are the two most memorable courses I have ever had. Ironically, I did really bad in these two courses, but this won't stop my admiration for him. He is definitely a good teacher. He knows the subjects well and explains everything smoothly despite the content difficulty. Sitting in his classroom is the most exciting as well as relaxing moment throughout the academic term. Compared to teaching techniques, I put more emphasis on a teacher's passion about mathematics. A passionate mathematician can easily affect me in the same way, and I feel a lot more pleasant when learning under this atmosphere.
I don't really have a least favourite math teacher, but I did felt a tremendous amount of stress when I studied math at kindergarten. I was required to learn abacus at that time, involuntarily. The teacher is not the one to blame because the abacus is part of the curriculum. However, the teacher did get really upset and mad when I was unable to use the abacus. Nothing bad really happened; it's just the feeling of making my teacher disappointed stayed with me for a long time, and I was upset about it too.
Yiwen, thanks for this post and the one with 'letters from future students'. I feel so sorry for 5-year-old you, having to feel so badly about learning the abacus! I admire your appreciation of your passionate math prof, regardless of marks!
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