Hi I’m Dave. I’m an aspiring mathematician; namely, I’m learning how to add.

Math Pages
Anyways, here are some cool pages for math:
Allan Hatcher’s Home Page
Ian Shipman’s Home Page
JUMP Math


India
I spent roughly half a year in India, and wrote a blog about it, which you can check out. I actually went twice. The first time I worked with the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, they’re the organisation that Mother Theresa started. I went with a group called Freedomize India you can check out their blog too. Anyways, the second time I went I spent most of the time in Bangalore, doing a variety of things. Sadly, I accomplished far less than I had set out to, but it was still a great experience. One of the things I did do, though, was find the Missionaries of Charity in Bangalore. It wasn’t easy, but inspired by Jam, the leader of Freedomize India, I mapped it out for others to follow. It’s all on my blog. Calcutta’s branch of the Missionaries of Charity is swamped with volunteers, so if you are thinking of volunteering with them, consider doing it in Bangalore, their second largest centre, which never has more than a handful of volunteers (often it has none).

Sudan
I think everyone should be aware of the genocide occuring in Sudan. It is absolutely horrific. Since I probably won’t have a chance to update my website very often, I will instead forward you to: BBC’s country profile , (or check this bbc darfur search). There’s also Save Darfur , if you want to know how you can help.
I’m very disappointed with the University of Chicago, which has kept investments in Sudan, indirectly supporting the genocide. Students Takaing Action Now: Darfur (STAND) has been doing a lot of work in that area.

JUMP Math
JUMP is a great organisation, whose founder, John Mighton, inspired me a lot. I’ll describe it in a roundabout way.
I don’t suppose to understand God... And one of the things I’ll spend my entire life trying to figure out is what he means by saying that we are made in his image. It’s easy to understand it as some general statement about the nature of being human... but it becomes far more interesting when one applies it to each individual specifically.
What does it mean to say that the homeless alcoholic is made in God’s image? What does it mean that the dying stranger is made in God’s image? What does it mean that the abandoned infant, or the disabled child is made in God’s image? Mother Theresa dared to ask those questions... she didn’t find easy answers. At the most basic level, she found that it meant she needed to care for them, no matter what it would cost her... But she gained so much more, for she saw God in each of them - God, who displays himself uniquely in each of us... and who leaves us in perpetual wonder.
What does it mean that each individual is made uniquely in God’s image?
John Mighton taught me a lot about this when it comes to teaching a child. He caused me to firmly believe that any individual (except perhaps those with a severe mental disability) is capable of true brilliance, and it’s the job of the teacher to guide that individual. I’ll restrict myself to mathematical education for the sake of a precise claim: any child is capable of research level math, given a proper education.
While it’s true that some children excel more than others in today's education system, it’s a huge fallacy to believe that certain children are inherently more intelligent than others. Essentially, as a teacher, one needs to learn to understand how that child thinks, and alter one's teaching to suit the child's thought processes. This may take lot of time initially, but children do not learn in a linear fashion... They learn in leaps and bounds, and they will soon surprise you by greatly surpassing your expectations.
I don't have the space to argue this in full here, and it's not my intention to convince you. In fact, I should point out that John has convinced not so much through his rhetoric as his results. You should check out the JUMP website.