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Cenk Erdoğan's Perspective on Music and Mathematics

• A quote is mentioned, stating that for a fish, anything other than the sea is torture, and when one finds what they love, they are satisfied, and sweet words can tame even the most ferocious of beasts (39s).
• Another quote is mentioned, stating that love is like soil, it needs to be watered, and one should do everything with love, as it is the key to opening doors and bringing joy to one's heart (1m15s).
• The speaker introduces himself as Cenk Erdoğan, a musician, composer, and guitarist, and mentions that music is a form of mathematics (1m43s).
• Despite being a musician, he claims that he is not good at mathematics and has struggled with it throughout his education, even failing his math classes (2m10s).
• He believes that his inability to understand mathematics is not due to a lack of intelligence, but rather because he couldn't relate to it, and instead focused on his passion for music (2m26s).
• He thought that he could compensate for his lack of math skills by using formulas to create music, but later realized that this approach was not necessary, and that music is not just about formulas and numbers (2m40s).
• He believes that true mathematics is not just about numbers and formulas, but about the balance and harmony in life, and the ratio of what one gives and takes (3m9s).
• Despite struggling with mathematics, he has found success in his music career, and believes that finding one's passion and pursuing it is key to success (3m43s).
• The importance of mathematics is emphasized, but it's also mentioned that not everyone needs to be good at math, as the speaker themselves struggled with it but still managed to excel in their profession by utilizing math in their work (4m5s).
• The speaker advises others to make peace with math and incorporate it into their lives, expressing gratitude to the audience (4m25s).

The Teacher's Introduction and Cenk Erdoğan's Success

• The speaker begins by sharing a story about their student, Cenk Erdoğan, who was one of their first students when they started teaching, and notes that Cenk is now a grown man (4m36s).
• The speaker recalls telling Cenk that no matter what he does, he should always keep learning, and shares Michelangelo's quote "I am still learning" as a guiding principle in their own career (4m57s).
• The speaker explains that they started with a song by Cenk Erdoğan, not because they like the song or its lyrics, but because Cenk is a humble person who has achieved great things, including winning a Grammy award and composing music for the film "Issız Adam" (5m24s).
• The speaker mentions that Cenk and his classmates were good at math, but they chose to pursue music instead, and notes that perhaps they were not good at the math that the speaker was teaching them, but they had a different passion and talent (6m2s).
• The speaker highlights Cenk's achievements and expresses pride in having him as a former student, and thanks the audience for inviting them to speak (6m48s).

The Teacher's Definition of Success and Personal Journey

• The speaker chose to talk about success, as a teacher, and notes that this is the topic they wanted to discuss under the title "My Greatest Achievement: My Failures" (7m2s).
• The greatest achievement is not personal success, but the success of approximately 1,000 students, including Nedim Cenk, whose achievements bring pride and joy (7m18s).
• The perception of being a hardworking student is not entirely accurate, as there are stories behind the scenes, such as being the last to enter Marmara University but graduating first (8m1s).
• The journey to success began in elementary school, where 46 years were spent in education, and the question of who might have put a curse on the educational journey is raised (8m18s).
• Elementary school years were marked by a lack of interest in school, with the exception of mathematics, and a preference for playing outside (9m3s).
• Laziness was first noticed in elementary school, where students who could read were rewarded with a ribbon, and the inability to read led to being placed in the "lazy" row (9m24s).
• A turning point came when a teacher helped to develop a love for mathematics, which became a driving force, similar to Cenk's passion for music (10m3s).
• The experience of being placed in the "lazy" row was a significant moment, as it was a time when friends were also in the same situation, and eventually, everyone learned to read and moved forward (9m48s).
• The elementary school years laid the foundation for a love of mathematics, which became a primary focus, similar to how Cenk's passion for music expanded to other areas (10m25s).

The Teacher's Educational Path and Discovering a Passion for Mathematics

• The process of expanding and exploring options was ongoing, but the path to follow was unclear, leading to a journey through middle school and encountering exams, including the Fen Lisesi (Science High School) entrance exam (10m26s).
• The Fen Lisesi exam was taken, and the first stage was passed, but the second stage was not, leading to a re-evaluation of options, with a dream of becoming a long-distance bus driver, which required working with machines (10m57s).
• Research into vocational schools led to the discovery of the machine drawing department, which seemed more appealing due to its combination of machine work and drawing (11m12s).
• The machine drawing department at Sultan Meslek Lisesi (Sultan Vocational High School) was attended for a year before transferring to a technical high school, where technical drawing and calculations were part of the curriculum (11m27s).
• It was realized that while math was enjoyable, the technical aspects of the work were not as fulfilling, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction (11m38s).
• The need to understand math to perform tasks, such as designing and drawing machines, became apparent, and it was acknowledged that this understanding was necessary to succeed in the field (12m13s).
• Despite the initial dissatisfaction, the work continued, and progress was made, eventually leading to the opportunity to take the university entrance exam in the third year of technical high school (12m47s).
• If passed, this would allow for the completion of the fourth year's coursework, but there was a concern about not knowing the topics covered in the final year (13m0s).
• While working on projects, some of which were related to 12th-grade subjects, the necessary knowledge was acquired, which helped in passing the university entrance exam and getting into the mathematics department (13m15s).
• The mathematics department was chosen because it had become a field of interest, and it was the only department applied for in the university entrance exam (13m35s).
• If one more department had been applied for, the possibility of attending Middle East Technical University instead of Marmara University existed, as there were three schools in the Education Faculty: Boğaziçi University, Middle East Technical University, and Marmara University (13m59s).

The Teacher's Career Path and Pursuit of Further Education

• After completing the university, a teaching position was taken up in the mathematics department, but the goal was not to be a teacher; rather, it was to work as an engineer (14m29s).
• The plan was to pursue a master's degree in a different field, such as mechanical drawing, which is related to mathematics (14m39s).
• After graduating at the top of the class, job interviews were attended, and the academic achievement proved to be beneficial in getting noticed (14m51s).
• Two phrases that were never forgotten were: first, a university professor saying that someone with such beautiful handwriting could not be a mathematics teacher, which was not taken seriously since the goal was not to be a teacher anyway (15m10s); second, after completing the master's degree and starting to teach, the first school applied to offered a job immediately (15m35s).
• After starting a teaching career, a decision was made to pursue a master's degree in mathematics engineering at Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ), as mathematics was a subject of great interest (15m39s).
• To gain admission, intense studying was done for the science and language exams, which ultimately led to being accepted into the program with high grades (15m51s).
• During the thesis phase, a choice had to be made between continuing with the master's program or pursuing a career in teaching, and the decision was made to leave the program and focus on teaching (16m13s).
• The decision to leave the master's program was initially seen as a significant failure, but this perception has changed over time (16m45s).
• Despite not becoming an academic, being invited to speak on the same stage as esteemed academics is considered a great honor and a valuable experience (17m9s).

The Teacher's Philosophy and Approach to Education

• The teaching career began with a desire to be more than just an ordinary teacher, and efforts were made to develop new skills and try new things (17m29s).
• To avoid losing touch with the feelings and experiences of students, new hobbies were taken up, including drone piloting and sailing, which involved taking courses and learning new skills (18m21s).
• The experiences of failure, such as being labeled as lazy in elementary school or leaving the master's program, were initially difficult to cope with but have become valuable learning experiences (17m44s).
• The perception of failure has changed over time, and it is now seen as an opportunity for growth and development (16m49s).
• The desire to learn and re-learn was a driving force, and this led to exploring various subjects, including music and mathematics, with the example of Cenk, who is involved in music and did not let his inability to do math hold him back (18m48s).
• The concept of finding one's true passion is illustrated through the example of Pisagor, who discovered the relationship between sound and math through experimentation with a metal rod and the sounds produced by a blacksmith (19m1s).
• The idea of not being limited by one's perceived abilities is emphasized, as the person who could not do math initially went on to make significant contributions to the field, and this mindset is applied to the speaker's own life, where they tried to break free from the conventional format (19m11s).
• The speaker pursued machine drawing in high school, which did not go to waste, as it helped in design and geometry workshops, where students and teachers experimented with new ideas and shared their experiences without fear of making mistakes (19m25s).
• The importance of embracing failure and viewing it as an essential part of the learning process is highlighted, with the English phrase "first attempt in learning" being particularly noteworthy, as it encourages people to take risks and make mistakes without fear (19m50s).
• The speaker emphasizes the value of this mindset and tries to convey this message to their students, encouraging them to make mistakes and learn from them, as it is through this process that true learning and growth occur (20m0s).
• The idea is to make mistakes repeatedly until there are no more mistakes to be made, at which point the learning process can truly begin, and this approach is applied to problem-solving and other areas of life (20m6s).