Joseph Betz interview by Laura Lopez, 2013

Oral History: Joseph Betz

By: Laura Lopez

0:00 Introduction
0:18 What subjects he taught at TCC
0:55 Drawn to math when young
1:10 Difficulties in math
1:30 Favorite part of teaching math
2:05 Patterns – discussion
2:40 Why become a teacher
3:35 How did you motivate students
4:35 Designed Mathematics for the Arts – saw math in everything
5:30 Math – gift / talent – curiosity
6:00 Math is Universal
6:30 Why did you choose to teach at TCC.
7:05 Started Teaching at TCC in 1967 to teach advanced math
7:25 Changes in TCC over the years
8:25 Math is basis for many fields
9:10 Schools attended to get degrees and masters
9:35 Most challenging part of going to school
10:20 Upbeat
10:45 College life was interrupted by service in the Korean War
11:24 Relationships formed while working at TCC
12:25 Remembers Civil Rights March and Obi bill of rights
13:45 Remembers the teachers strike
15:10 What does TCC mean to you
16:10 Is it easier to go from High School to Community College over a University
17:25 Forced his students to come in and see and talk to him
17:52 What he missed the most
18:05 Would he return to teaching
18:38 Retired in 1990 and in 2002
19:15 Do most teachers have similar personalities
20:00 Motivating students
22:08 Do they still teach the classes you created
22:28 New courses based on other texts
23:15 What makes TCC successful
24:05 What advice for people wanting to be teachers
25:00 Grandchildren attending TCC currently
25:30 Remembers when Muhammad Ali came in to talk Campus/students needs inspiration of guest speakers.
26:40 Role models/heroes
27:50 Teaching style
28:20 Remembers students with trouble in math and how he helped them
29:20 Patterns in the real world – Flowers (Fibonacci numbers)
31:00 history of Fibonacci numbers
31:45 how it relates to the real world and why it is important
32:15 Chaos Theory
32:50 Fractals
33:50 Yogi B quote
34:00 Looking for patterns in the world
35:00 Patterns in data and not just noise
35:35 Number Theory –
36:55 Are there going to be changes in math in the future
37:30 All math is interesting, not necessarily useful
38:00 Minor history on computers
39:50 History of calculus
40:50 Closing remarks – remembering times of being a member of the small faculty of TCC
41:50 one last story about Tom Ford and John Tracey
42:45 closing