The seed for this project was planted in 2018, when, armed with youthful exuberance and blissful ignorance, I penned an ambitious proposal titled Teaching Math Through Inquiry. As a second-year junior faculty member, I foolishly planned to rewrite the entire lower-division math curriculum in just three years. Thankfully, the proposal was swiftly dismissed - probably saving the math department and my career from imminent disaster. I was young and didn't yet know what I didn't know. I still don't, but I'd like to think that since I am older, I must be wiser. For my sabbatical, I decided to tackle Intermediate Algebra, a course I have taught for over a decade and still enjoy doing so. 

During the process, there were times when I agonized for days, oscillating between competing pedagogical approaches, only to abandon ship completely and take things in a completely different direction. There were also days when I nearly gave up, drowning in details—until a tiny spark of inspiration hit me, making me feel like I had just discovered fire. Before I tie a bow on this project and return to work, I must dedicate it to the best teachers I've ever had...

1. To my earliest teachers - my mom, for teaching me all the stuff I really needed to know, and to my dad, for (thankfully not listening to my mom and) making all the Math and Physics come to life by teaching me all the stuff I didn't need to know. Many activities in this project trace directly back to their spontaneous dining table lessons.

2. To my great uncle, Prof. M.L. Khanna, who showed me that people don't just read books - they write them too. I haven't quite written one yet, but this might be a sneaky start.

3. To Mr. Sundaram, my math tutor growing up, for never once answering a single question, teaching me the value of being on time, and convincing me that stubborn persistence and hard work can mask even the most glaring intellectual gaps.

4. To Mr. Jim Meier, my high school math teacher, for showing me that math wasn't just a tool to solve problems but that it was beautiful and elegant, and for once telling me that I didn't "do the things I needed to in order to succeed in life" exactly when I needed to hear it. 

5. To my sister, Anisha, for teaching me that speaking up requires courage. 

6. To Anisha's husband, Kevin, for wisely teaching me that sometimes it is more courageous to say nothing at all.   

7. To my niece, Zara, for demonstrating conclusively that "belly full" is never an acceptable reason to refuse chocolate.

8. To Yoshi, our family Corgi, who taught me the importance of regular walks and the invaluable principle: "Never do anything without treats."

9. To my kids, Alexa and Robyn, for the constant reminders of how little I actually know - and how much they enjoy pointing that out.

10. And finally, to my wife, Julie, who patiently taught me how to talk to strangers, that they are just people, and most importantly, that after all these years, I still know absolutely nothing.