Michael Rogers

I was born in Alabama and educated at Reed College (B.A.) and Columbia University (M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.). I have been learning and teaching all my life  at least as much of it as I care to remember  and that's as it should be. As a child my natural curiosity led me into hot water fairly often. But I rarely made the same mistake twice. I was competitive by nature. The joy of competition was in the striving with others. I never found pleasure in their defeats. In my view competition drove all of us to make our best efforts. So I turned to helping my schoolmates. I seemed to have some success in helping them with their reading and especially with their mathematics.

My dad never cared much about my grades. He asked only that I do my best. He was proud of me if I had done so, even when my grades were low; and when they were high, he was a little disappointed if I had not.

As I grew up, I looked out for ways to make a living. If one aims at doing some good beyond securing material comfort, one looks for ways to use one's talents and interests in worthwhile ways. To teach someone is clearly a worthwhile goal. These things led me to seek out a career as a teacher of mathematics. I hope to inspire my students to strive for their best. They can do no more than that. I have never had to worry about whether following this career has been worth the effort. I am glad to be at a place where teaching is my primary duty and is supported so strongly by my colleagues.

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