This is an email that was sent once a month ago. It is being resent for the benefit of those who missed it. Hi All This is Dr. Maesumi, your instructor for calculus 1 fall 2010. This email contains some important information. You DO need to read it. (It is not blah blah!) This information only applies to my section of calculus. Questions: maesumi@gmail.com Issues: text book, teaching style, prerequisite Textbook: my section of calculus will use: Calculus Early Transcendentals, 5th edition, (note this is the fifth edition) Author: James Stewart Publisher: Thomson, Brooks/Cole ISBN: 0534393217 This book will not be available locally and you have to order it online. Since this is an old edition you can purchase it at a substantial discount. But online purchases need to be done carefully. Check the reputation of seller as indicated by ranking, number of sales, warranty etc, as well as the stated condition of the book. (The cd that came with the original is NOT needed but check that the book is in good condition with few or no marks. And do not write on your books either!) PARTIAL copy is available for the 6th edition on Google reader Stewart sixth edition on Google Reader I have not seen 5th edition on Google. As the cost of such books approach the $300 mark, you will save when buying used older editions early. Some places to search for used books are AbeBooks Ebay Amazon but check around. Please write your total cost including shipping and tax on a piece of paper and put it in the book. At the beginning of the course I will do a survey to see the average cost. We will use the fifth edition since it is cheaper. If you want to use any other edition be prepared to do a bit of page/problem number checking. TEACHING STYLE: Substantial information about the course is available at Calculus one home Page My favorite approach to this course (Plan A) is to ask students to view the videos on above site, do the homework, and when students come to class they come to the board to solve the homework. This approach makes the class into a public tutoring place. It requires disciplined study habit as well as enough time/interest/guts to get it done right. To reward the students for their extra effort I allow students to bring their notebook containing their handwritten lecture notes and homework to tests! (that is THE CURVE). I need a good number of students to participate by coming to the board to solve problems. If there is not enough participation we will move to Plan B or C. As explained below. The alternate approach (Plan B) is for you to view the videos and for me to do the homework at the board. The reward for this is that you can bring a half-page one-sided formula sheet to tests. Plan C is the traditional method. I lecture in class. I answer questions in the few remaining minutes and exams are closed book, closed notebook, and no formula sheet. A couple of days into class we will have a vote and I make a decision as to how we will proceed. There is a lengthy prerequisite description on the above site. You want to read it. You need a working knowledge of Algebra, Trig, and Geometry. You can view a few videos on above site to see if my accent is OK with you. The site will undergo continual changes to reflect new policies.