The House Always Win by Caleb

The House Always Win by Caleb - June 2019 Scholarship Essay

A teacher that impacted my life is an important way to further my education was Shane from Yavapai College. When I took my COMPASS test to see where I am placed in Community College, I had completely failed the simple pre-algebra questionnaires. It was recommended to me to start from the beginning. And when I say the beginning; I mean the VERY beginning. So I ended up choosing a random in-class teacher named Shane for the Fundamentals of Mathematics. He was very young but had already completed a Master’s in Mathematics and now was teaching it at my local college. I will say as someone who completely hates Math in every way shape or form; Shane made the experience actually enjoyable. He answered every single question I had even on simple problems.

I ended up taking his class through pre-algebra and right through College Mathematics. It was in this class he taught us mostly probability using the guise of “counting cards”. Where would you place your bet on the suit that would appear next in the deck? It reminded you very much of the movie (and real-life story) for the film 21. So it felt like I was really learning how to use probability in real life. It ended up teaching you that the House always has an 85% chance of winning and betting is actually a terrible idea. But I never once thought that Math could be fun the way Shane made it out to be and I will forever be grateful for him teaching me that the House always wins no matter how smart you think you are.