Drawings

It has come up a few times now, while doing boardwork, that the students get a little frustrated if drawings aren’t done precisely (no freehand!). This is entirely because they were taught this way by us when we covered usage of the ruler and protractor. While it is nice to see them start to appreciate some rigor and precision, I worry that we’ve made them distrust the freehanded drawing too much. Also, I don’t want to draft every drawing I make on the board with painstaking care (call me lazy, it’s true, but it’s also a time commitment). The big issue I see though, is that very often in real life you have to deal with freehand drawings. The students should be comfortable with a cartoon that doesn’t portray every scale and angle precisely, but is used to emphasize a point. I think it is important to clarify when it is acceptable to freehand and when extra time and care is needed to draft something with more fidelity.