That's not omega!

That’s not omega!

“That’s not omega!”  I was shocked.  I am used to being challenged on many things: academic, worldly, and whether or not there are 3 minutes left in class or 4.  But omega?!  Of course it was omega!  What else would it be?  Does he not know that I majored in math in college?!  We know what (some of) the Greek letters are!

Unfortunately, now nobody is really thinking about angular velocity.  Thanks, Student.  : /

Honestly, I really didn’t know what else to say.  At some point, I remembered that Greek letters have capital and lower case, and he probably didn’t know that.  He was used to the capital omega.  We use the lower case one.  I know sometimes there is a reason certain letters are used.  I don’t remember which or why.

I wasn’t even annoyed with this kid.  (I know the face above tells a different story).  This was during my Advanced Algebra & Trigonometry class.  This class is designed for seniors who aren’t ready for calculus.  It is 7^th hour.  It was ‘fun.’  OK.  It really was fun.  They definitely tried my patience, but I really loved this class.  For the most part it was made up of seniors.  I love that.  They were good kids who were nice.  Squirrelly.  but good.  They made me laugh.  I found myself with a big smile frequently during this class.  They were great.

They also taught me a lot.  This time I realized that previous knowledge can be more of a hindrance than a help.  Student, for whatever reason, was familiar with a capital omega.  It, of course, doesn’t look anything like the lower case omega, and he thought I was crazy.  I could have told them w was the variable for angular velocity, and nobody would have said, ‘boo.’  I thought he was crazy, too.  Like I said, why would you even argue with me about that?  This distraction can be annoying in class.  Some students’ focus can only withstand so much distraction.  I need to work on my reactions.  Maybe I should have asked him why he thought that.  Then his reasoning would have been clear to me.  I could have explained, and then, you know, actually taught angular velocity.  (Don’t worry I did anyway!)

Also, this reminded me that we need to be aware of what is going on in their brains.  If he hadn’t voiced his omega confusion, it may have been something that was a constant distraction to him.  How often do our students suffer in silence?