If my students ever pay attention to what I am saying...
If I say that I will replace your lowest test grade with the final exam grade if it is higher, then hand out a sheet with the same sentence on it, then still get an email from a student (who was in class) asking if I will replace the lowest test grade with the final, obviously they were not paying attention.
What does that say about the rest of the semester???
I decided to completely ignore the email...don't know if it was the best way to handle it, but it is too frustrating to handle incompetent students.
For my friends and family who like to keep up with the life of the Zack's...
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Monday, May 04, 2009
T Minus 8 days
One final down...three to go. A Friday evening spent at a Baccalaureate , Sat morning listening to Buzz Aldrin speak at Graduation.
Then a little r&r and what hopefully will be a great vacation!
Read 2 more books:
"Ask Again Later" by Jill Davis. An quick fast paced read about a woman and her life, dealing with different issues in her family. It was pretty good.
"The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink. Quick read as well and really interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. While I didn't really like the characters in the novel, the story was good and the writing was good.
Then a little r&r and what hopefully will be a great vacation!
Read 2 more books:
"Ask Again Later" by Jill Davis. An quick fast paced read about a woman and her life, dealing with different issues in her family. It was pretty good.
"The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink. Quick read as well and really interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. While I didn't really like the characters in the novel, the story was good and the writing was good.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Math Competition
A while ago, I posted that our Math Club that I am trying to get going decided they wanted to host a local math competition, to which I was told there was no way I could pull it off. This said competition was this past Saturday, and it went surprisingly well. My students did work hard, and they did submit questions to me with answers, but the problem was, many were just not that difficult.
Now a week ago, I had only 1 team that had entered the competition. I panicked...what do I do??? Then I got an email saying another team was sending 2 teams. Ok, so now we are up to 3. I sent an email out to many schools who told me they wanted to come. And I got 2 more teams. So the competition ran with 5 teams, which for the first year, isn't so bad.
I think it was pretty successful, other than the fact that I was spending Thursday and Friday nights at my computer coming up with questions. The bad thing was, I did this so last minute, that I was doing my solutions late Friday night, and I had a few incorrect answers. Yikes, I am no math teacher right! Luckily, some of the other teachers were doing the problems and a few challenged my answers. I think on the total of 61 questions, I had 2 incorrect.
We will probably do it again next year, with some modification and I think we can have twice as many teams come, so that will be great.
I am feeling better, I think I am finally over my sickness...I went for two walk/runs last week. Only running a total of 10 min each time, which was rough, and went for a 22 min run yesterday. It was not the best feeling, but what do I expect after a 3 week hiatus of being sick and stressed out.
Only 3 more days of class....then final exams, semester is almost over!
Now a week ago, I had only 1 team that had entered the competition. I panicked...what do I do??? Then I got an email saying another team was sending 2 teams. Ok, so now we are up to 3. I sent an email out to many schools who told me they wanted to come. And I got 2 more teams. So the competition ran with 5 teams, which for the first year, isn't so bad.
I think it was pretty successful, other than the fact that I was spending Thursday and Friday nights at my computer coming up with questions. The bad thing was, I did this so last minute, that I was doing my solutions late Friday night, and I had a few incorrect answers. Yikes, I am no math teacher right! Luckily, some of the other teachers were doing the problems and a few challenged my answers. I think on the total of 61 questions, I had 2 incorrect.
We will probably do it again next year, with some modification and I think we can have twice as many teams come, so that will be great.
I am feeling better, I think I am finally over my sickness...I went for two walk/runs last week. Only running a total of 10 min each time, which was rough, and went for a 22 min run yesterday. It was not the best feeling, but what do I expect after a 3 week hiatus of being sick and stressed out.
Only 3 more days of class....then final exams, semester is almost over!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Still Sick
Still alive but still sick...on another round of meds and feeling better but still have to sleep propped up on pillows or I cough all night long and just keep coughing and coughing all day...
The Thirteenth Tale...one of the best books I have read in a really long time. Extremely interesting and great writing style!
The Thirteenth Tale...one of the best books I have read in a really long time. Extremely interesting and great writing style!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Detrained
I think I have run a total of 2 times in the past two weeks. Things got hectic, then we were in Detroit. We came back and next thing I know I am crazy sick with 101 degree fever. I am on some meds but I am severely tired and coughing up tons of stuff. Together, this does not make for good training. I was planning on doing a 5K before our trip but that will not be happening. Oh well. Looks like just more getting out of shape.
Finished a couple more books: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which was pretty good. The story of a a terrorist group crashing in on birthday party trying to kidnap the president of Argentina who decides not to attend the party at the last minute. The story is mainly about all the different relationships that form between the different people that are there. It was good for me but not great.
We listened to Away by Amy Bloom to and from Detroit. It is the story of a girl who loses her family and travels to US to find work. Then she hears that her daughter might be alive and it goes through the journey of her trying to make her way to Siberia where she might be. The story becomes basically a collection of other stories of her travels and the people she meets. It was interesting and a decent read.
I am currently reading The Thirteenth Tale which is really good so far. I am thoroughly liking this somewhat mystery novel.
Finished a couple more books: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which was pretty good. The story of a a terrorist group crashing in on birthday party trying to kidnap the president of Argentina who decides not to attend the party at the last minute. The story is mainly about all the different relationships that form between the different people that are there. It was good for me but not great.
We listened to Away by Amy Bloom to and from Detroit. It is the story of a girl who loses her family and travels to US to find work. Then she hears that her daughter might be alive and it goes through the journey of her trying to make her way to Siberia where she might be. The story becomes basically a collection of other stories of her travels and the people she meets. It was interesting and a decent read.
I am currently reading The Thirteenth Tale which is really good so far. I am thoroughly liking this somewhat mystery novel.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Thieves in Detroit
A summary of the strangest weekend I might have ever had:
Friday afternoon: drove 11 hours to MI, arrived at 11:37pm. Left my school bag in my car parked in my parents driveway. Bag contained purse.
Saturday morning: 7:45am I go out to the car...car has been broken into. Bag with school stuff (aka school laptop) and purse are gone. File a police report.
Sat evening: attend final four games...Go Tar Heels!!!
Sun morning: MI police recover my bags!! Minus the school laptop, brand new cell phone, money and TI-89 Calculator. My quizzes I was going to grade are still there...so my students will not receive all A's. And thank you to the thieves you left my purse which had my wallet, 2 pairs of sunglasses, and 2 inhalers. I at least don't have to get all new cards for grocery stores and libraries and my drivers license.
Sun evening: the craziest game of cards with my family...my sister was in the rarest of all forms!
Mon: pack all our stuff in the car to drive home after the game. Watch UNC win the national championship game!! Yeah!!! Kind of a blowout, but fun to be a UNC fan!!
We walk back to our car to find stuff from our trunk all over the ground by our car. What the heck...another car break in! Is my car screaming "come to me"??? This time the GPS is stolen but nothing else. They left our stuff on the ground for us to pick up.
At least no broken windows right?
Who has this kind of luck to have your car broken into twice in 3 days. I am not so upset about anything except the laptop...the school laptop, with all of my work for all of my classes on it. The rest of the "stuff" is replaceable.
Why hadn't I backed up my files over the past year???? :)
I am avoiding Michigan at all costs. No more visiting the family for a while until the economy turns around!
Friday afternoon: drove 11 hours to MI, arrived at 11:37pm. Left my school bag in my car parked in my parents driveway. Bag contained purse.
Saturday morning: 7:45am I go out to the car...car has been broken into. Bag with school stuff (aka school laptop) and purse are gone. File a police report.
Sat evening: attend final four games...Go Tar Heels!!!
Sun morning: MI police recover my bags!! Minus the school laptop, brand new cell phone, money and TI-89 Calculator. My quizzes I was going to grade are still there...so my students will not receive all A's. And thank you to the thieves you left my purse which had my wallet, 2 pairs of sunglasses, and 2 inhalers. I at least don't have to get all new cards for grocery stores and libraries and my drivers license.
Sun evening: the craziest game of cards with my family...my sister was in the rarest of all forms!
Mon: pack all our stuff in the car to drive home after the game. Watch UNC win the national championship game!! Yeah!!! Kind of a blowout, but fun to be a UNC fan!!
We walk back to our car to find stuff from our trunk all over the ground by our car. What the heck...another car break in! Is my car screaming "come to me"??? This time the GPS is stolen but nothing else. They left our stuff on the ground for us to pick up.
At least no broken windows right?
Who has this kind of luck to have your car broken into twice in 3 days. I am not so upset about anything except the laptop...the school laptop, with all of my work for all of my classes on it. The rest of the "stuff" is replaceable.
Why hadn't I backed up my files over the past year???? :)
I am avoiding Michigan at all costs. No more visiting the family for a while until the economy turns around!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Random Thoughts
1. Am I the only one who just doesn't understand Twitter? It seems like it is just a status bar on Facebook that you can update at your choosing. So what is so special about this? And why are so many people saying (on facebook even) that they are addicted to it?
2. I am a secret Kelly Clarkson fan...always have been. Her songs make me smile and are great beats to run to, and I like her new song out right now. Actually, EZ secretly likes her too.
3. The weather here is finally going to settle down and stop bouncing between getting warm and then cold again. This will be a huge relief because my allergies finally had enough this past week and I felt like my head was living in a cloud. Getting better, but going out to exercise has been tough. Even using my inhaler, I have been having issues breathing.
4. Major sporting events should not be played at 10:00pm. First, I don't think athletes are used to having to play a game that late, it is unfair to them right! And second, I cannot stay up that late night after night watching these bball games. You west coast people get it easy.
5. Someone told me my eyes were mesmerizing the other day. I have very dark black eyes, so dark that you can barely see my pupils, like black holes, they suck you in! This isn't normal, as I have never met any one else with eyes this dark, so does that make it part recessive gene? And since EZ has blue eyes, which is recessive, I wonder what kind of eyes our kids will have (when we have kids).
2. I am a secret Kelly Clarkson fan...always have been. Her songs make me smile and are great beats to run to, and I like her new song out right now. Actually, EZ secretly likes her too.
3. The weather here is finally going to settle down and stop bouncing between getting warm and then cold again. This will be a huge relief because my allergies finally had enough this past week and I felt like my head was living in a cloud. Getting better, but going out to exercise has been tough. Even using my inhaler, I have been having issues breathing.
4. Major sporting events should not be played at 10:00pm. First, I don't think athletes are used to having to play a game that late, it is unfair to them right! And second, I cannot stay up that late night after night watching these bball games. You west coast people get it easy.
5. Someone told me my eyes were mesmerizing the other day. I have very dark black eyes, so dark that you can barely see my pupils, like black holes, they suck you in! This isn't normal, as I have never met any one else with eyes this dark, so does that make it part recessive gene? And since EZ has blue eyes, which is recessive, I wonder what kind of eyes our kids will have (when we have kids).
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Books of the Month
My latest readings:
Night by Elie Wiesel. This was an extremely short memoir of Wiesel's account of the days leading up to his deportation to Auschwitz and then his days at the concentration camp. I read it in a couple hours and once I picked it up I didn't put it down. It was very touching and interesting to hear the story told from his perspective. I also have his two short stories Dawn and day to read as well. Highly recommend this book to anyone.
An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor. Our book club picked this in honor of St. Patty's day. It was a cute story, and some fun irish speak, but I just thought it was OK. I wasn't fond of the style of writing, VERY wordy, and I just don't like that. And many of my book club people agreed with the style and we all seemed to say we found ourselves skimming over sections at a time. But many of them really liked the story of the simplicity of this little village and the story of the people who live there.
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. This is a classic novel about the story of a chinese farmer who rises up to power through his land. I really liked the story of being attached to something so valuable to live off the land and have it pay you back in return. But in the process of rising to power, I was heartbroken at his children's generation and how he thought he was helping them move up in the world and give them things he did not have, but in return his children did not see the value of the land and what it gave them. I understand why this is a classic book and I enjoyed it!
I have given up on the Omnivores Dilemma. And currently am just starting Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (my book club suggestion for next month).
Night by Elie Wiesel. This was an extremely short memoir of Wiesel's account of the days leading up to his deportation to Auschwitz and then his days at the concentration camp. I read it in a couple hours and once I picked it up I didn't put it down. It was very touching and interesting to hear the story told from his perspective. I also have his two short stories Dawn and day to read as well. Highly recommend this book to anyone.
An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor. Our book club picked this in honor of St. Patty's day. It was a cute story, and some fun irish speak, but I just thought it was OK. I wasn't fond of the style of writing, VERY wordy, and I just don't like that. And many of my book club people agreed with the style and we all seemed to say we found ourselves skimming over sections at a time. But many of them really liked the story of the simplicity of this little village and the story of the people who live there.
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. This is a classic novel about the story of a chinese farmer who rises up to power through his land. I really liked the story of being attached to something so valuable to live off the land and have it pay you back in return. But in the process of rising to power, I was heartbroken at his children's generation and how he thought he was helping them move up in the world and give them things he did not have, but in return his children did not see the value of the land and what it gave them. I understand why this is a classic book and I enjoyed it!
I have given up on the Omnivores Dilemma. And currently am just starting Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (my book club suggestion for next month).
Monday, March 23, 2009
Haagen Dazs Five
Haagen Dazs has created an all natural ice cream they call "five." This stands for just 5 ingredients-milk, cream, sugar, egg, and the flavor:
Vanilla, Passion Fruit, Ginger, Brown Sugar, Coffee, Chocolate, and Mint
I am a member of SheSpeaks-an online organization that reviews products and shares what they learn about them. It is all free and then they send you products to try and review. So when I got an email asking if I would taste Haagen Dazs new ice cream...Helllooo, of course! They wanted me to have an ice cream tasting party, so yesterday 8 people came over and we tasted all 7 flavors of the ice cream. Shespeaks sent me the ice cream and coupons and recipies to hand out, plus little cups and spoons for the tasting.
It was quite fun and I must say, the ice cream is really good. The ginger was rather interesting, if you like ginger it is definitely worth trying. And the Brown Sugar flavor was different too, but good. My favorites were the passion fruit and the mint. But they all were very smooth and creamy, yum yum!!
Vanilla, Passion Fruit, Ginger, Brown Sugar, Coffee, Chocolate, and Mint
I am a member of SheSpeaks-an online organization that reviews products and shares what they learn about them. It is all free and then they send you products to try and review. So when I got an email asking if I would taste Haagen Dazs new ice cream...Helllooo, of course! They wanted me to have an ice cream tasting party, so yesterday 8 people came over and we tasted all 7 flavors of the ice cream. Shespeaks sent me the ice cream and coupons and recipies to hand out, plus little cups and spoons for the tasting.
It was quite fun and I must say, the ice cream is really good. The ginger was rather interesting, if you like ginger it is definitely worth trying. And the Brown Sugar flavor was different too, but good. My favorites were the passion fruit and the mint. But they all were very smooth and creamy, yum yum!!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Two Great Games
Wow! The games at here in Greensboro yesterday were so much fun! Put 20000 people, 1/3 of which hate UNC and 2/3 of which hate Duke, made for two fun games. The UNC/LSU game was really exciting. And the Duke fans cheered for LSU as if they were Duke. I must say the Duke students are the best fans. Chanting and screaming the entire time. You would think that after so many years, the UNC students would step it up. Either way, it was exciting to see the Heels play great against a strong LSU team.
The Duke/Texas game was interesting. Texas hung around most of the game but played really sloppy, missing who knows how many free throws and numerous turnovers. Texas lost the game because of their own mistakes. Really, not a lot of play calling and team work. Duke didn't play all that well, so in the end, the game was great. And once Texas finally tied it up with a few minutes, the entire UNC crowd was on their feet cheering for Texas. And as much as I don't usually cheer for Texas, I just can't cheer for Duke!! It was quite a fun Saturday.
It has been an exciting tourny so far! Thanks T for the tix! Here is EZ enjoying the Duke/Texas game:
The Duke/Texas game was interesting. Texas hung around most of the game but played really sloppy, missing who knows how many free throws and numerous turnovers. Texas lost the game because of their own mistakes. Really, not a lot of play calling and team work. Duke didn't play all that well, so in the end, the game was great. And once Texas finally tied it up with a few minutes, the entire UNC crowd was on their feet cheering for Texas. And as much as I don't usually cheer for Texas, I just can't cheer for Duke!! It was quite a fun Saturday.
It has been an exciting tourny so far! Thanks T for the tix! Here is EZ enjoying the Duke/Texas game:
Friday, March 20, 2009
Uncomfortable Seats
We were lucky enough to score awesome tickets to the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tourny. So yesterday after my two morning classes and a not so brief faculty meeting, I bolted and headed to the Coliseum. We got there right at half time of the first game (LSU vs Butler) and saw a second half great game. I was cheering for LSU since I had picked them, but it seemed the entire stadium was routing for Butler. Then the UNC game, in which we witness Psycho T break the ACC all time career points (which JJ Redick held...not a fan of by the way).
We took a break in between session and grabbed some chinese buffet before heading back to watch a decent Minnesota/Texas game. Minnesota definitely had the best pep band of the four games. And then the Duke game, which we only stayed through half time. By then, it was 11, I was so tired and my back hurt. The seats in the collisium are TERRIBLE. Really uncomfortable and hard as a rock! When we go back tomorrow, I am bring something to sit on for sure.
Probably did not help with my back problems, but I have visited the chiropractor 5 times so far and I must say, I haven't felt better in quite a while. Still a little bit of residual pain in places and sometime, but I have to say that it is working! I was going to run the 5K tomorrow morning, but since my back flared up, I took it really easy the past 2 weeks, only ran 2x this week and easy and on the treadmill to soften the impact.
Other random news...I went and heard Thomas Friedman speak Wed night at HPU. Our president was/is a big business person who knows a lot of people and brought him in (did I mention our graduation speaker this year is Buzz Aldrin). I heard Friedman speak on the Colbert Report (or maybe it was the Daily Show) a few months ago, but haven't read any of his book. He spoke for a little over an hour about his new book Hot, Flat and Crowded, and it was really interesting. Very good speaker and great presentation and information. Based on his talk, the book sounds really good.
Lets get ready for two more great bball games tomorrow!!
We took a break in between session and grabbed some chinese buffet before heading back to watch a decent Minnesota/Texas game. Minnesota definitely had the best pep band of the four games. And then the Duke game, which we only stayed through half time. By then, it was 11, I was so tired and my back hurt. The seats in the collisium are TERRIBLE. Really uncomfortable and hard as a rock! When we go back tomorrow, I am bring something to sit on for sure.
Probably did not help with my back problems, but I have visited the chiropractor 5 times so far and I must say, I haven't felt better in quite a while. Still a little bit of residual pain in places and sometime, but I have to say that it is working! I was going to run the 5K tomorrow morning, but since my back flared up, I took it really easy the past 2 weeks, only ran 2x this week and easy and on the treadmill to soften the impact.
Other random news...I went and heard Thomas Friedman speak Wed night at HPU. Our president was/is a big business person who knows a lot of people and brought him in (did I mention our graduation speaker this year is Buzz Aldrin). I heard Friedman speak on the Colbert Report (or maybe it was the Daily Show) a few months ago, but haven't read any of his book. He spoke for a little over an hour about his new book Hot, Flat and Crowded, and it was really interesting. Very good speaker and great presentation and information. Based on his talk, the book sounds really good.
Lets get ready for two more great bball games tomorrow!!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Happy Pi Day (+1)
Yes, yes, yesterday was Pi day! That would be March 14th, you know 3/14, as is the first few digits of the number Pi!
If you love Sudoku puzzles, you can find one here in honor of Pi day.
If you love Sudoku puzzles, you can find one here in honor of Pi day.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A Lovely Weekend
My sister and little Amelia came for a few days and we had the most beautiful weather. Temperature in the 70's and 80's and sunny! Even getting a little sunburn, but now back to some dreary clouds and cold rain. It was a nice visit with the sis, did some shopping, running, hanging out, went to the park, watched some bball. She took some pictures and I am sure will post on her blog sometime.
On a not so great note, I am in some serious back pain. Probably about 2 weeks now, and we are talking excruciating pain. It hurts to do just about anything but be still. My sister was kind enough to work on me a little and suggested to go see a chiropractor and I did. My two lowest vertebrae are coming together and pinching (more like squashing) the nerve they share, even causing some nerves not to fire in my right leg. So yeah, expensive month this one will be...he thinks roughly 16 visits will do the trick to get me back to feeling good as long as I do some exercises for the back and strength stuff once I can get some movement of my lower spine back. The xrays were rather interesting to look at and actually see that my lowest vertebrae has already grown a bone spur because of the degeneration of the disk above it. Oh well, what can you do...
Here is hoping for some pain relief soon!
On a not so great note, I am in some serious back pain. Probably about 2 weeks now, and we are talking excruciating pain. It hurts to do just about anything but be still. My sister was kind enough to work on me a little and suggested to go see a chiropractor and I did. My two lowest vertebrae are coming together and pinching (more like squashing) the nerve they share, even causing some nerves not to fire in my right leg. So yeah, expensive month this one will be...he thinks roughly 16 visits will do the trick to get me back to feeling good as long as I do some exercises for the back and strength stuff once I can get some movement of my lower spine back. The xrays were rather interesting to look at and actually see that my lowest vertebrae has already grown a bone spur because of the degeneration of the disk above it. Oh well, what can you do...
Here is hoping for some pain relief soon!
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Snow and Books!
After being close to 70 last week, we got 4 inches of snow Sunday night...and HPU canceled classes yesterday! That makes for a short week now and next week is spring break!!
I thought I would update on some books I have read over the past few weeks...
1. The Shack by William Young. This is a deeply religious book that one of the book clubs picked. It was a rather quick read but I didn't like it nearly as much as The Christmas Sweater. I think it touches different people in different ways and depending on what you are going through depends on how I think you feel about the book. It was interesting and I did like how the author viewed God/Jesus/Holy spirt as the different people, and the ideas of what everything represented.
2. New Moon by Stephanie Myers. This was not on my list to read, but my sister is coming to visit this weekend (YEAH!!) and wants to take the books back. So I picked up the second book in the twilight series. It was OK and got kind of interesting at the end. I skim some of the fluff I don't like reading and it really is a serious teenage drama, but my sister swears 3 is better and 4 is really good, so I am pretty sure I will end up reading these.
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell. I had never read this book and I am trying to weave in some classics into my mix. I really enjoyed this, it is super short and I loved the meanings behind a lot of the characters. I got invested into some of the characters and was not happy with what they did to the horse, and loved the ideas behind governing played out on the farm. I do realize this has much more meaning if I go back and study some history and I might spend some time doing that.
I am still reading The Omnivoires Dilemma, I read a few pages every few nights. It really is hard to get through it but I am learning a lot. And I am reading An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor (book club), which is an alright story which takes place in Ireland. I am also listening to The Good Earth by Pearl Buck in the car right now. Maybe I will be done with these in the next couple weeks.
I thought I would update on some books I have read over the past few weeks...
1. The Shack by William Young. This is a deeply religious book that one of the book clubs picked. It was a rather quick read but I didn't like it nearly as much as The Christmas Sweater. I think it touches different people in different ways and depending on what you are going through depends on how I think you feel about the book. It was interesting and I did like how the author viewed God/Jesus/Holy spirt as the different people, and the ideas of what everything represented.
2. New Moon by Stephanie Myers. This was not on my list to read, but my sister is coming to visit this weekend (YEAH!!) and wants to take the books back. So I picked up the second book in the twilight series. It was OK and got kind of interesting at the end. I skim some of the fluff I don't like reading and it really is a serious teenage drama, but my sister swears 3 is better and 4 is really good, so I am pretty sure I will end up reading these.
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell. I had never read this book and I am trying to weave in some classics into my mix. I really enjoyed this, it is super short and I loved the meanings behind a lot of the characters. I got invested into some of the characters and was not happy with what they did to the horse, and loved the ideas behind governing played out on the farm. I do realize this has much more meaning if I go back and study some history and I might spend some time doing that.
I am still reading The Omnivoires Dilemma, I read a few pages every few nights. It really is hard to get through it but I am learning a lot. And I am reading An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor (book club), which is an alright story which takes place in Ireland. I am also listening to The Good Earth by Pearl Buck in the car right now. Maybe I will be done with these in the next couple weeks.
Friday, February 27, 2009
It can be done...
I am trying to start up a math club here at HPU and getting students to get involved is rather hard. I find lots of interests when I ask my students in class, but no one yet is willing to step up and take charge, except for me.
I do realize that getting this thing going is going to take work, so ok, I am committed to work at this for a little while hoping that by the fall I can find some dedicated students to really get it together.
They decided they wanted to host a local math competition for high schools. I said OK, I will try to see what can be done. I tell my boss this and his response to me is that I won't be able to pull it together in time (end of April).
I sent out 30 emails today to local schools, already 6 have responded that they want to do it. That is pretty good turn around for just a trial to see if there is interest. So guess what....game one. I gave a student a list of 30 more schools to contact and he said he would do it this weekend. Now I have to really nail down some details as to level of competition, entry fee, the time, etc. But it all just takes a little work right! I was discouraged until I saw the responses come in today, it was very encouraging!
I also managed to get get a professional poker player turned math professor to come give a talk later this semester and am organize multiple workshops for the students that they have asked for.
All of this has surely kept me busy...and tomorrow is another long day of interviewing prospective incoming freshman for scholarships here, yeah. Now it is time to go off to a dinner for them and their parents, even more fun!
I do realize that getting this thing going is going to take work, so ok, I am committed to work at this for a little while hoping that by the fall I can find some dedicated students to really get it together.
They decided they wanted to host a local math competition for high schools. I said OK, I will try to see what can be done. I tell my boss this and his response to me is that I won't be able to pull it together in time (end of April).
I sent out 30 emails today to local schools, already 6 have responded that they want to do it. That is pretty good turn around for just a trial to see if there is interest. So guess what....game one. I gave a student a list of 30 more schools to contact and he said he would do it this weekend. Now I have to really nail down some details as to level of competition, entry fee, the time, etc. But it all just takes a little work right! I was discouraged until I saw the responses come in today, it was very encouraging!
I also managed to get get a professional poker player turned math professor to come give a talk later this semester and am organize multiple workshops for the students that they have asked for.
All of this has surely kept me busy...and tomorrow is another long day of interviewing prospective incoming freshman for scholarships here, yeah. Now it is time to go off to a dinner for them and their parents, even more fun!
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Students of Today
There was an article posted in the NY Times last week that one of my friends posted on facebook (thanks J). It is about student expectations...that the students we have today have this idea that they are expected to receive grades based on what they think is work, but what educators think of as expected.
"A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading."
So there is this sense of entitlement for them, partially because I think that is the norm throughout high school. Time and time again, my students ask me for extra credit at the end of the semester because they are not satisfied with their grades. There is so much pressure on high school teachers to keep their grades up that I think students are failing to actually learn how to learn. Oh I could go on all day about this...you can read the article here (have to be a subscriber to the NYTimes-it is free).
Then two students emailed me Friday afternoon asking if they could put me down as a reference to be a peer mentor. That they were being interviewed Saturday morning, so they needed to know Friday evening. I did get both emails Friday night, but was disappointed that students don't even have the common courtesy to give you time to respond to things like this. I waited until Sunday morning to respond, telling them in the nicest way I could that I would have been happy to be a reference but that in the future they need to get not all professors ample time to respond to situations like this, that it is just common courtesy. One girl actually emailed me back and said she was sorry but that she did put me down as a reference. That blew my mind too. So I hadn't even said yes, but she put me down anyway....back to this sense of entitlement.
And lastly, EZ sent me this post on you tube about a customer arguing with Verizon...it is a scary world out there that people don't understand simple math like this:
"A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading."
So there is this sense of entitlement for them, partially because I think that is the norm throughout high school. Time and time again, my students ask me for extra credit at the end of the semester because they are not satisfied with their grades. There is so much pressure on high school teachers to keep their grades up that I think students are failing to actually learn how to learn. Oh I could go on all day about this...you can read the article here (have to be a subscriber to the NYTimes-it is free).
Then two students emailed me Friday afternoon asking if they could put me down as a reference to be a peer mentor. That they were being interviewed Saturday morning, so they needed to know Friday evening. I did get both emails Friday night, but was disappointed that students don't even have the common courtesy to give you time to respond to things like this. I waited until Sunday morning to respond, telling them in the nicest way I could that I would have been happy to be a reference but that in the future they need to get not all professors ample time to respond to situations like this, that it is just common courtesy. One girl actually emailed me back and said she was sorry but that she did put me down as a reference. That blew my mind too. So I hadn't even said yes, but she put me down anyway....back to this sense of entitlement.
And lastly, EZ sent me this post on you tube about a customer arguing with Verizon...it is a scary world out there that people don't understand simple math like this:
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Update
After such a busy week last week, this will be such a mellow alternative. EZ was so nice to make me a great V-Day dinner on Saturday after my long day at work. Ribs for dinner and strawberries to go with some of that chocolate we have waiting to be used. We melted it down in our little fondue pot and had a great dessert! I was so tired from the day I went to be at 9, but we watched the movie (Rendition-yes totally romantic right?) he got on Sunday. How nice of him, considering I got or did nothing for him on Saturday. Now I feel like the terrible spouse!
See, thing is, we usually don't do anything for these types of holidays, so the dinner and dessert was super nice...and when I saw Beth's post about having a mellow but happy dinner together, that is just the sort of thing we like to do. It was the thoughtfulness that means the most. And just like them, we also got married young, almost 7 years now, and I couldn't imagine life without him.
In other news, my student who I have been pestering to sign up for the race failed to do so and it closed out yesterday. And since I refused to sign up until she did so I knew she was committed, that means no race for me! Yeah...no embarrasing swim or bike! Who knows what she might end up doing for the real triathlon race she is trying to pick in April. I might not really race at all!
Scratch that...I have decided to do the 5K on March 21st that would support the Second Chance Animal Shelter. And just got an update that the kitty I rescued is doing well. They thought they might have to amputate her leg, but they think it will be ok. Just infected, but healing...that would be her back leg...her front leg is broken and they have it splinted! Poor kitty!! Glad that she has a place to stay warm and get healthy and hopefully will find a great new home when she is all better!
See, thing is, we usually don't do anything for these types of holidays, so the dinner and dessert was super nice...and when I saw Beth's post about having a mellow but happy dinner together, that is just the sort of thing we like to do. It was the thoughtfulness that means the most. And just like them, we also got married young, almost 7 years now, and I couldn't imagine life without him.
In other news, my student who I have been pestering to sign up for the race failed to do so and it closed out yesterday. And since I refused to sign up until she did so I knew she was committed, that means no race for me! Yeah...no embarrasing swim or bike! Who knows what she might end up doing for the real triathlon race she is trying to pick in April. I might not really race at all!
Scratch that...I have decided to do the 5K on March 21st that would support the Second Chance Animal Shelter. And just got an update that the kitty I rescued is doing well. They thought they might have to amputate her leg, but they think it will be ok. Just infected, but healing...that would be her back leg...her front leg is broken and they have it splinted! Poor kitty!! Glad that she has a place to stay warm and get healthy and hopefully will find a great new home when she is all better!
Friday, February 13, 2009
What day is it?
I have had one of those weeks...the ones that I never know what day it really is. And it is going to drag on as tomorrow I have to work as well from 8-4. I even had a conversation with my boss yesterday where he was talking about Friday and I had no comprehension that it was Thursday. Here is a maybe not so short recap...
Monday night-I have tried to start a math/computer science club at HPU and we had a pizza/game night Monday night. Good showing of about 15 students who ate pizza and we played some games. I was at school from 8am to 8:30pm that day. Yikes.
I actually had Tuesday night free, but Wednesday night I went to the first annual meeting for the new co-op they are trying to build. I am on a mission to do better things in my life, whether it be for the environment or the local community, and buying local is a great thing if they can get the funding to build the co-op.
Last night I drove to Raleigh to rescue a kitty. This kitty has been living in the crawl space (along with another kitten) in the house being built across the street from us. I have been feeding both kitties...the older one had two injured legs, and this is the one I have been trying to rescue. I called a dozen or so different shelters and either all were full or were not no kill. I finally found a place in Raleigh that would take her and get her help. They updated me this morning that the back leg has a huge puncture wound and they have the kitty on antibiotics and are trying to determine if they can save the leg. It breaks my heart. Thanks though to Second Chance Adoptions...and for all my local peeps...sign up for the Great Human Race (5K) in Durham March 21st!! The proceeds go to benefiting Second Chance and other no profit local organizations.
I told EZ that as soon as our crazy kitties are gone (probably not for 10 more years), then I want to be a foster mom for cats. I also will begin volunteering for the Humane Society staring next week...again part of my new trying to be a better person.
Tonight I am headed back to Raleigh...to hear a talk from a college at Davidson. But again, another long evening. And tomorrow of course is the day of interviewing potential incoming freshman at HPU for the Presidential Scholarship. Basically the top students come in to interview with faculty and other students here to try and earn different levels of scholarships.
Oh what a rough week...and next weekend in the mini indoor triathlon my student wants me to do. I swam yesterday for the third time in 6 months and I made it 750yds in 10 min (with 1 lap of backstroke for a little recovery in the middle). The indoor tri is a 10 min pool swim and see how far you go. Maybe by next week I will be able to get halfway down lap 775 for that lap to count!
Monday night-I have tried to start a math/computer science club at HPU and we had a pizza/game night Monday night. Good showing of about 15 students who ate pizza and we played some games. I was at school from 8am to 8:30pm that day. Yikes.
I actually had Tuesday night free, but Wednesday night I went to the first annual meeting for the new co-op they are trying to build. I am on a mission to do better things in my life, whether it be for the environment or the local community, and buying local is a great thing if they can get the funding to build the co-op.
Last night I drove to Raleigh to rescue a kitty. This kitty has been living in the crawl space (along with another kitten) in the house being built across the street from us. I have been feeding both kitties...the older one had two injured legs, and this is the one I have been trying to rescue. I called a dozen or so different shelters and either all were full or were not no kill. I finally found a place in Raleigh that would take her and get her help. They updated me this morning that the back leg has a huge puncture wound and they have the kitty on antibiotics and are trying to determine if they can save the leg. It breaks my heart. Thanks though to Second Chance Adoptions...and for all my local peeps...sign up for the Great Human Race (5K) in Durham March 21st!! The proceeds go to benefiting Second Chance and other no profit local organizations.
I told EZ that as soon as our crazy kitties are gone (probably not for 10 more years), then I want to be a foster mom for cats. I also will begin volunteering for the Humane Society staring next week...again part of my new trying to be a better person.
Tonight I am headed back to Raleigh...to hear a talk from a college at Davidson. But again, another long evening. And tomorrow of course is the day of interviewing potential incoming freshman at HPU for the Presidential Scholarship. Basically the top students come in to interview with faculty and other students here to try and earn different levels of scholarships.
Oh what a rough week...and next weekend in the mini indoor triathlon my student wants me to do. I swam yesterday for the third time in 6 months and I made it 750yds in 10 min (with 1 lap of backstroke for a little recovery in the middle). The indoor tri is a 10 min pool swim and see how far you go. Maybe by next week I will be able to get halfway down lap 775 for that lap to count!
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Lovely Warm Weekend
After crazy cold temps earlier this week, it has finally warmed up! Today if the wind wasn't blowing it would feel like 70! So I decided I would go outside and ride the bike. The first time since Wilmington Tri in September. I have ridden the trainer maybe 6 times in the past month, but never more than 45 min. I decided not to go far and to weave through ever part of the neighborhood to get some mileage checks for when I run. Yes, a whopping 12 miles in a record breaking 48min.
See the thing is, I am not training for anything, so I don't want to go out and ride hard or long, but I want it to be fun and just enough for some cardio and whatnot. I ran a great big 11 minutes off the bike too. A nice relaxing workout in the warm sun. I was way overdressed on the bike and was actually hot.
Right now it looks like I might do an indoor triathlon in 2 weeks. One of my students wants me to do it with her, so I agreed. This means 10 min of swimming in a pool, 20 min on a stationary bike and 20 min on a treadmill, see how far you can go. I did swim this week, a grand total of 1 mile. I managed 600 straight with a 50 back in the middle. The my arms felt like they were going to fall off. The 10 min swim might be killer and I might even have to do a lap or two of back in there to keep my arms on.
Other than that, I am debating running another half marathon the first weekend in May. Maybe a couple 5K's until then to see if I can break that stupid 22min barrier. EZ has found some good cues that I think might actually help, so I feel like I am making progress there.
See the thing is, I am not training for anything, so I don't want to go out and ride hard or long, but I want it to be fun and just enough for some cardio and whatnot. I ran a great big 11 minutes off the bike too. A nice relaxing workout in the warm sun. I was way overdressed on the bike and was actually hot.
Right now it looks like I might do an indoor triathlon in 2 weeks. One of my students wants me to do it with her, so I agreed. This means 10 min of swimming in a pool, 20 min on a stationary bike and 20 min on a treadmill, see how far you can go. I did swim this week, a grand total of 1 mile. I managed 600 straight with a 50 back in the middle. The my arms felt like they were going to fall off. The 10 min swim might be killer and I might even have to do a lap or two of back in there to keep my arms on.
Other than that, I am debating running another half marathon the first weekend in May. Maybe a couple 5K's until then to see if I can break that stupid 22min barrier. EZ has found some good cues that I think might actually help, so I feel like I am making progress there.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
First Round of books in 09
So I decided to change the "Books I have Read" part on the side and got rid of all those up there (those were all the books I read last year).
I am making progress on The Omnivores Dilemma...I no longer want to eat corn fed beef, and EZ to make me happy bought ground turkey instead of beef last week. :)
So here are the last three books I have read over the month:
1. Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews. This was such a fun book, I read it in just a couple days before school started back up. About a woman about to get married who catches her fiance cheating on her at the rehearsal dinner. There is lots of different stuff going on that kept me entertained and I am a sucker for books like these.
2. Twilight...Yes I read the first book, and I have the second on but haven't started it yet. I wasn't all that impressed. It was just OK and seemed a bit corny to me at times, but I am going to eventually read the next one, after I read a few more books of my choosing.
3. The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber. This book came highly recommended and I wanted to poke my eyes out reading it. The only reason why I finished was because it was our book club book this month. It is kind of a mystery/drama about finding a possible lost Shakespeare Manuscript. I read some reviews of it and I found people either really liked it or didn't. It might have something to do with the fact that I am not a huge Shakespeare fan...even though it had cryptography and some coding theory in it, to me it wasn't that interesting.
Up Next...I will finish the Omnivores Dilemma and I just got the Night Trilogy by Elie Wiesel, and then we'll see what book club picks.
I am making progress on The Omnivores Dilemma...I no longer want to eat corn fed beef, and EZ to make me happy bought ground turkey instead of beef last week. :)
So here are the last three books I have read over the month:
1. Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews. This was such a fun book, I read it in just a couple days before school started back up. About a woman about to get married who catches her fiance cheating on her at the rehearsal dinner. There is lots of different stuff going on that kept me entertained and I am a sucker for books like these.
2. Twilight...Yes I read the first book, and I have the second on but haven't started it yet. I wasn't all that impressed. It was just OK and seemed a bit corny to me at times, but I am going to eventually read the next one, after I read a few more books of my choosing.
3. The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber. This book came highly recommended and I wanted to poke my eyes out reading it. The only reason why I finished was because it was our book club book this month. It is kind of a mystery/drama about finding a possible lost Shakespeare Manuscript. I read some reviews of it and I found people either really liked it or didn't. It might have something to do with the fact that I am not a huge Shakespeare fan...even though it had cryptography and some coding theory in it, to me it wasn't that interesting.
Up Next...I will finish the Omnivores Dilemma and I just got the Night Trilogy by Elie Wiesel, and then we'll see what book club picks.
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