The determinant is an extremely powerful tool in linear algebra, data manipulation, and mathematics in general. In this class, we'll define what it is and talk about some of its uses, including the volume of a cube, finding a tangent plane, and eigenvalues.

Have you ever had that nightmare where you're on stage giving a speech to your whole school? Have you ever felt a sinking "deer-in-headlights" feeling when you have to deliver a presentation in front of the class? Have you ever just wanted to spontaneously deliver a beautiful, persuasive speech? If so, then this is the class for you! We will use current events as a medium to talk about strategies to confidently deliver an effective and eloquent speech. We will also examine some of the greatest speeches of all time from Ancient Rome to 2018, in fiction and reality. Aside from speech-delivery strategies, I will encourage students to think more deeply about the current events presented.