Developmental Mathematics Revival!

A Worthy Calling

Some years ago, my department was dealing with competing requests to add off-campus sections of our developmental courses. One of these requests was coming from a local hospital, where the staff was very interested in enhancing their education and professional development. We decided to invest some of our resources to provide our classes at their hospital because this seemed like a worthy calling.

I suggest that all of us who work in developmental mathematics are living such a ‘worthy calling’. We provide support and professional instruction to students, some of whom have few other options; we help students find their own ladder to a better life. In many cases, our passion for helping our students is what makes the difference between a student reaching their dreams … or failing again.

We definitely need to re-create what we do in developmental mathematics; far too many students do not make it through our programs, and we effectively serve as a filter in spite of our collective desire to enable our students to succeed. I hope you will consider the New Life model and ideas.

However, hold your head up! The calling is worthy, the purpose is noble, and our students need us. As we start a new academic year, I hope you begin with a sense of purpose combined with a committment to improve what we do on behalf of all of our students.

Together, we can create a new developmental mathematics and look to a brighter future!