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!

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:

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!

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!

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.

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.

The Mathematician

A few weeks ago the Wall Street Journal had an article about the Best and Worst jobs...You can read about it here

But here are the top ten jobs to have right now:
1. Mathematician
2. Actuary
3. Statistician
4. Biologist
5. Software Engineer
6. Computer Systems Analyst
7. Historian
8. Sociologist
9. Industrial Designer
10. Accountant

I found it interesting that the top three jobs are things you major in at HPU in our department. So today I showed my students this article. I of course talked to them too about how really most of these jobs are high paying jobs (just not in education). They found that quite amusing and interesting too and I think it might have sparked some interest in some. Either way, I guess that means if I lose my job in teaching, I could probably find a great, high paying job somewhere at a company and help solve real world problems.

I also showed my class the following IBM Commercial that I happen to see on TV the other night while watching the Duke vs WFU game (down with the Blue Devils!!!)



Thanks for a great commercial IBM!

Chocolate

I meant to post this at xmas...I received a 10 pound bar of Ghiradelli Chocolate for Christmas from my work. What do you do with 10 lbs??? Yes 10 lbs!!! Merry Christmas:




The bar was about 2-3 inches thick and it took a while to break it down into big chunks which I have in quart size bags that are in the freezer. I think I remember there being 22000+ calories in the bar. That is a lot of calories!

We did make homemade hot chocolate with it and some fudge to drizzle over ice cream. But that hardly made a dent in the chocolate. Any suggestions?

Time for Change

So yes, we have a new president, and I think he will do great things..but I don't want to be political in my blogs. There are too many outspoken people out there and I don't feel educated enough on politics to talk about issues when I am not 100% up to speed with all the facts.

This post is about change at work. After much debate, the faculty finally voted on switching our curriculum at HPU to 4 hour courses vs 3 hour courses and it passed. There is still some flexibility that courses could be more (like labs and sciences or whatever) and things could be less, but most courses will all turn in to 4 credits. There are good things and bad things about this switch, but what it means is that I will go from teaching 4 courses per semester to 3. Yes, still the same number of hours, but this means 30 less papers to grade, 1 less class to prep for and that I think is a huge deal. I also think it is a good thing because every department has to go and revise their curriculum which I think needs to be done.

The goal is to start fall 2010...so not too long, but I think it will be a painful year at HPU working on a new curriculum and implementing it!

Snow Policy

I work at a private university, which means basically we make our own rules, like we hold classes on Labor Day. Since we are a residential campus, something like 90% of our students live on campus, so we hold class practically always.

There was lot of forecast for snow, anywhere from 1-4" around here and when I woke up this morning, it was snowing. Maybe 1/2" on the ground. But see the forecast was that it was suppose to snow all day today not that it was magically going to be on the ground this morning. I teach an 8:00am class and a 9:30am class on Tuesday's, so I got up and turned the tv on to see if school was closed. Every county in the state practically had closed schools but not HPU. So I get dressed and everything and check my email and the HPU website one last time at 7:05am, and still nothing.

So I head on my way...what normally takes 35 min, took 50min, and I arrive at 7:55am. And then my phone rings as I am getting out of my car. What...classes are canceled until 12:30??? An email went out at 7:25am that classes were canceled for the morning. Lovely. A 35 minute warning. For those like me who have to leave at 7 to get here on time, we all show up ready for class to find the classes empty.

So here I am...at HPU for the day...

A new beginning

No, nothing to do with running or anything, but yes the semester started back up on Tuesday and yippee, it is back to teaching. I have 4 courses this semester, all ones I have already taught, but yet again have decided to change things up and do some different things in classes, which means more work for me.

I sat down the other day to do my annual self evaluation (for tenure), and after typing it all up, in terms of my teaching progress, professional growth, and service, I actually have done quite a bit. I did manage to finally have my first paper published in December.

Other than that, it is just about to get really cold here in NC. Tomorrow's high is maybe going to hit 30. And it is windy out. All that cold that was in the midwest is finally arriving here. By the look of the 10 day forecast, I don't think we will have any moderately mild days anytime soon.

Here Comes the Sun

I spent the week in DC at a math conference. We interviewed 22 people for our job opening next year and found some great people. I, on the other hand, did not do a single bit of exercising while I was there. It wasn't too cold the first day or two but then it got cold and rainy. Not so fun.

It was so great to see some old friends from high school and some of my friends from NCSU. We made it back Thursday evening in time to watch the big game and then I spent yesterday sleeping. Yes, I pretty much slept the entire day. I think this was a combination of still somewhat being sick, 4 days of not sleeping due to my snoring roommate, and 4 long days of interviewing and talks and stuff. I felt pretty sick yesterday but feel better today. Maybe all that sleep helped out.

School starts back up on Tuesday, so lots to do before then. I think today, since it is suppose to be warm (upper 50's) and sunny, a nice afternoon run seems like a good idea!

Welcome 2009

As I sit here watching USC put the hammer down to Penn State, I thought I would update on the next Zack vacation. We have looked a lot of places and deliberated a lot over what we could do, how much time could EZ take off, how much could we afford, what type of place did we want to go see...

After a lot of discussion it is done, we have all of our plane tickets and we are headed to Ireland for a week and then Italy Italy for 2 weeks. We originally wanted to do England/UK and France too, but it became too much, too many days, too much money, etc. We can go back.

Oh, and it just so happens we will be in Italy the same time as the Giro d'Italia-and Lance is racing it for the first time. So more rearranging of our itinerary and there you go, no we will be in Florence the day one stage finishes and then be there to see the start of the next stage! How fun!!

Been thinking about triathlon options too, this means of course I would have to race a race in April or first week in May (White Lake??) and that would be it until way later in the season. I don't do vacation to exercise, so three weeks off and that would put me behind. So who knows, I am not out there to be any sort of elite triathlete and had already decided I didn't want to race in the elite age group any more...too many times finishing last and not enough determination or really desire to want to spend my free hours training enough to move up, so back to the age group I go. Triathlon is just something I do to keep me fit and healthy, and right now I am enjoying just running-plus I still have this goal to break 22 min in the 5K!

The Latest Book Recap

I know Monica, it's been awhile since I updated on the book list so here you go.

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez. I read this a few months ago out our trip to Costa Rica. It was selected by one of my book clubs, but it is the memoir of a woman from Michigan who moved to Afghanistan to start a beauty school to help the women there. I found it extremely interesting to read about different rituals and the culture of life there and especially how women are treated, but then to read about how different the author was treated. It was a quick read and definitely interesting.

The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. This was my other book clubs selection for November and for those of you that read a lot have probably heard or maybe even read this book. Wow is all I can say. This is a book that goes far beyond the meaning of life and being thankful and grateful for what you have. Extremely moving and touching and as soon as I finished the book I bought a copy for my dad for Christmas. This is also a very quick read.

The Broker by John Grisham. I actually haven't read one of his books in a while but while in Costa Rica a women from CA finished reading it in a 2 hour van ride with us and she gave the book to me. It is a typical Grisham book, constantly keeping you on your toes and trying to figure out what is going to happen next, plus it took place mainly in Italy which was fun to read about.

Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter. This is the book clubs selection for December. It is actually a local author who will be in Burlington and was selected by the county for the book selection. It is about a family in NC in the 1940's who deal with war and the polio epidemic. It is classified as a young adult book and has won awards in that category, so it was very easy and quick to read, but it definitely captivated me and it was interesting to read about life during the polio epidemic.

The Pleasure Was Mine by Tommy Hays. Another book club selection, but was also the book for the city of Greensboro a couple months ago and also a local author from Ashville. I picked this book up two days ago and basically didn't put it down. It is the story of a husband's loss of his wife to Alzheimer's and the grief he goes through putting his wife in a nursing home and visiting her everyday with the added story life of his son who lost his wife in a car accident and the grandson and how they all help each other heal one summer. It was a wonderful book.

All in all, 5 great books (4 of them from my 2 book clubs). Still sitting next to my bed is The Omnivore's Dilemma which I am only about a quarter of the way through and my sister just brought me the first few books in the Twilight series. Plus, I want to read Marley and Me before seeing it in the theaters! Not to mention all the books I still have on my list here on my blog to read and more I haven't even added!

A day to Relax

After saying goodbye to Krista, E, Amelia and my mom this morning, Eric and I had the house to ourselves again for the first time in a week. We spent the day doing absolutely nothing. Watched some football, took a nap, played some wii, read a little, finished off some leftovers...stayed in my pj's until maybe 2 when I decided to take and shower and then get back into sweats! It was great!!!

The week got hectic with 16 people in the house-5 of them being little ones, but is was nice to have the whole family here. I haven't seen my parents and grandparents since last xmas! It was a little busy and stressful, but not too bad. Everyone got fed enough cookies to last a few months and we still have enough ham to eat for another week.

EZ came down with some sort of cold/flu type thing which has meant unbelievable snoring the past couple nights, which then means not much sleeping for me, and with every room in the house full, I had no where to go to sleep but next to the snoring husband.

I am off for another week until I head up to DC for a math conference and then back to school again. Hopefully I will get back into it, but for now...relaxation (oh and probably a nice massage to be scheduled by way of my birthday present from EZ!)

Oh Christmas Tree

Well my sister, Ethan and little Amelia arrived on Friday. I finished up my grading and everything Saturday. Eric did not finish the molding in the kitchen but did finish in the family room so it is all back together and ready for the rest of the family to get here.

We went out last night and got a tree. Yes, we are a little late, but with the painting and molding and grading, there wasn't time or any place for the tree. But you know what, we got a great 8 foot fraiser fir for $40, since the guy was trying to unload the trees so he could go home! With the topper on, it almost touches the ceiling. It is way awesome!

Little Amelia is full of fun things to say and do...she is in love with all things Santa and Snowman. Loves playing with her peeps (fisher price people) and loves to "dance" (which means run around in circles). All fun times here in warm NC!

Busy Bee

T minus 5 days until the family starts arriving. Will we have our Christmas decorations up? Nope. Will we have the Christmas tree? Nope. Will the crown molding be finished? Maybe. Will I be done grading? Probably Not.

Final exams started yesterday, so I spent my afternoon watching my helpless calculus students struggle through a exam. I got a little done while they worked, but not enough. My last exam is Thursday morning, with two on Tuesday and one on Wednesday as well. My goal is to be almost done with grading by the time my sister and E and little Amelia arrive on Friday.

The painting of the downstairs went well last weekend and Eric has spent the entire week and weekend putting up the double crown molding. He still isn't done and thinks he might be done nailing it up tomorrow. Then that leave a day for sanding, a day for caulking and a day for painting. With no hope of having the living room furniture back in the living room by the time Friday comes around. So of course that means no decorations and no tree. But since they are graciously arriving early to hang out, they can assist me in doing these things so that by the time the rest of the family comes on the 23rd all will be well in the Zack household. :)

I found very little time this past week to do any exercising. Although that was probably good news for my knee. I made it Thursday to the gym and did 20 min of running with 10 min on the elliptical before and 10 more after. Then back again yesterday for the same but with 25 min of running. The knee feels alright so I am hoping to head out this afternoon for a 30 min run outside before the HPU Christmas Dinner.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I hope you have a wonderful day! Can't wait to see you in a couple short weeks!!

Love, me

A Hilly Chilly Run to Victory

I picked out this half marathon (Run to Victory) for a few reasons-it was relatively close to the house and it benefited Victory Junction Gang-a camp for kids with medical problems. Kyle and Richard Petty were there to start everyone off-kind of cool!

I had a goal of breaking 1:50 and thought for sure I could do it. I had no idea what was in store for me though. And I know I can do this at some point, but today was not my day. It was a bit chilly in the low 30's but windy, so it felt like mid 20's. And it was HILLY. Like STEEP hills. I was not expecting hills like this. And never ending, it was either up or down, never that long of any stretches of flat.

I managed ok through 8 miles and then I think the hills finally caught up to me. I was totally only pace through 8 miles just plugging along around 1:47 pace and then I just crashed. By mile 10 my knee hurt so bad, I ended up shuffling the last few miles around 10 min pace. I was so mad-and have decided that maybe a full marathon is just not in store for me. I had knee issues then and today was the first time in a long time that it got that bad again. Oh well. I ended up running 1:52. Technically this is the fastest half I have run, so that should make me happy but I ran 1:53 for the first half of my full marathon 2 years ago.

Oh well. Whats done is done and we (actually more EZ) spent the rest of the weekend painting the downstairs-family room, kitchen and eating area. Now EZ wants to get the crown molding up before everyone comes for xmas-he's got 2 weeks!

Tis the Season...

For Christmas lights.
Holiday Music.
Giving.
Family.
Friends.
Cold mornings and maybe snow if we are lucky.
Smell of a Christmas Tree.
My Birthday.
Lots of food.
Eggnog? Hmmm....Mulled Wine.
Peppermint Mochas. Peppermint anything.
Gingerbread cookies.
Shopping for the perfect present.
Mini break from work.
But before that-grading and grading and grading.
December 19th can not come any sooner.