The semester so far

The semester so far is going pretty well. I certainly have lots to say about it, not all of which is appropriate for mixed company to read.

Teaching is finally going pretty well. I'm teaching a course one step above the one I have taught before, but it's good. It keeps me honest. I'm forced to spend considerable time with the material before I teach it, and that's never a bad idea. The first couple of classes were a little bumpy, but after a little talk and work with my dad, the legendary guru of math teaching, I was able to find smoother seas. My planning of each class is now pretty meticulous, with room left for improvisation. The most important thing I've picked up is to present the material very slowly. Start with the simplest examples, the simplest cases, imaginable. Don't throw more than one trick at them at once, until they've seen each of the tricks individually first. It's working very well.

I'm mostly lecturing, with a little group work on Fridays, but I'm comfortable with that. When I'm on, I'm a pretty good lecturer, and I don't think the students get too bored. (One of them does have an intriguing habit of reading a newspaper when I'm speaking, but I'm not sure he's in the right place, anyway.) The students seem nice, although quiet. I teach at 12:20, so everyone's either a little groggy from just eating, or fading fast from not eating yet. Also, I teach in a lecture style room, with stadium seating, so it's a little hard to organize group work, but that's ok. Not all of them seem too ridiculously eager to do the group work, and a lot of them work alone, but that's ok too. They don't have to like it, and they don't even have to do it.

Sometimes their incredible silence is a little irritating, like when I ask them questions as a group. Yesterday, I asked who had seen long division of polynomials before. Silence. I asked if anyone had not seen long division of polynomials before. More silence. I asked if we should all close our eyes, except for me, so that no one would be embarassed to admit he/she hadn't seen it before. Still more silence. I yelled "ARE YOU STILL BREATHING???" There was still silence, but a whole lot of very wide eyes. Some people nodded. Good enough. I told them I was just checking.

I'll probably write later about how my own classes and research are going. Again, there's a lot to say. I also should write about my cat situation at some point.

I'm finally getting settled in with the new kids, and adjusting to all of the people who have left. Let me focus on the new kids. There are FOUR GIRLS! And I think they're all nice! I know the other new folks a little bit, and there's only one of them that I wish dead. Most of them are pretty nice, and only smarter than I am by a tolerable amount. I was even feeling better about the one I wanted to die until just a couple of minutes ago.

Our paths crossed, and he thanked me, saying that even though I didn't know it I had loaned him one of my textbooks for about twenty minutes earlier today. He had left a note, but had finished with it before I got to my desk today, so he removed the note. This is not kosher.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I wish I had the mutant power to make anvils appear and fall on people's heads. Anvils or pianos. With pianos, you get that wonderful musical crash when they hit.

Of course, I could have just explained that I'd rather he didn't borrow books without asking, but I feel this is somewhat dangerous territory. The math department is not entirely the happy-go-lucky crew it once was. There are some entirely untrustworthy characters floating around, and I'm not even referring to the new guy who I wish was dead. There is no security at our desks except for the drawers, whose locks are probably not monumental in their sturdiness. This means anything on our desks, such as, say, textbooks, are up for grabs. So far this hasn't been abused terribly much by anyone, but I feel that it's a very delicate balance. Far be it from me to stir the waters.

This entry has taken on a darker tone than I intended.