I will be teaching linear algebra this semester. It has been awhile
since I have taught this but it is a great deal of fun to get back into the
"world of lin al". I have been watching many hours of MIT open courseware
in preparation for the class.
Current News
FCCCP
My wife is continuing her business - Family Christian Counseling Center of
Phoenix located at 1300 East Missouri Avenue in Phoenix. If you are a
behavioral studies major go check out her website at
www.familycccp.org.
Recent Events
My Dad's Book
My father last year finished writing a book and my brother and I finally got
it published. It is titled "How Big is Your God?" and dedicates one
chapter each to the different names Scripture gives to God in the Old Testament.
You can go to Amazon and buy it now, yea!!!! In the search box put the
title and my fathers name - Richard Pettitt. I had no idea how long it
would take to get this done, but we are certainly excited that it is out there
now.
How can this be my 13th year at Arizona Christian?
My Christmas break has been filled with many
family activities. I guess that is one thing great about having time
to just spend with family. Our son and his lovely wife have come to
live with us for a little while, they are looking for jobs and setting up
their own lives here in Phoenix and we are more than excited. With 4
people clamoring around our house our dog "Courage" does not know who to
bring his many toys to.
Picture for pondering:
I choose this picture because I wanted to be reminded of this special
young man every time I opened my website this spring. One of the books I
read last Christmas was about how this amazing young man from Africa built a
windmill to power his family's home. The title of the book is
The Boy who Harnessed the Wind.
I titled this picture "Ingenuity - I love it".
Much of the time he was working on this people called him crazy.
What persistence he showed, I hope I can show just a little of this trait
this semester.
Be THANKFUL for the mind God has given you.
Classes I will be teaching
Linear algebra: This will be a one
semester course which introduces the main ideas of matrix and vector algebra. The application of math to the world around us
has always been fascinating to me. The semester incorporates many
concepts, probably the main one being Ax = b.
Math Concepts: This semester I will be
"skiing over the surface" of 4 basic areas of mathematics - algebra,
statistics, geometry and logic.
Chemistry II: OK, OK, I know you have heard it too many times before but
I love teaching this one too. I think my love for science has to be rooted
in the lab. I love being able to study something in the classroom and
then go and SEE it in action in the lab (it does not get any better than
that).
A few books I have enjoyed reading over Christmas:
Strength in What Remainsby Tracy Kidder: This is a book about a young man
from Burundi who survives the Hutu/Tutsi tragedy and comes to America to
continue his education. If I ever complain about anything just remind
me of this book.
The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba:
This is another book about an African young man who despite extremely tough
times develops a wind mill to bring electricity to his home. If you
want go to the
TED website and see a 4 minute clip on his life.
Jesus for President by Shane
Clairborne: I enjoyed reading this one (actually I reread it over the
break), it challenged my thinking. Ask me about it and what I learned.
Verse for the semester
"In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your request be made
known unto God."
Flash
Flash is one of my favorite programs to work with. I made a
short flash video up of what the world would look like if it were only
100 people. View it and tell me what you think.
For a little fun with music and flash
click here, the video is about 90 seconds long. Adobe flash is
one of my favorite software programs and it is amazing what the software
can do.
