January 13 Day 311: Skipping Out

I feel a little guilty because I didn’t write anything yesterday. The quarter began over a week ago. My experiment with a new-to-them technology was less than ideal partly because only half the students were present and partly because I was an idiot. I am more than willing to talk about my own limitations, but I don’t want to reveal theirs.

Having only one class with a small enrollment, I can’t write about my frustrations or successes without students knowing that I am writing about us. And that feels unethical.

I know I am in a privileged position. I can truly give my students individual attention. We can work through misunderstandings and build trust. So what I earth should I have to worry about or process?

Of course I’ll still be frustrated. In the scheme of things, my issues will be small and not widely applicable. So maybe they are not worth writing about.

It may take me time to find the right balance. Perhaps I don’t need to write everyday as I have in the past?

Why was I an idiot you ask? I introduced the students to Limnu and I was having connection issues with my iPad. In an attempt to fix the problem, I did a hard reboot. After that I could not write on the Limnu board to save my life. So I typed and used the mouse to get by. Only after class finished did I realize I needed to reconnect my apple pencil before it would write on the iPad. Arghhh!

Limnu board at 12% zoom. to see organization.

Published by Jenny Quinn

Mathematician. Mother. Wife. Leader. I am the Executive Director of Seattle Universal Math Museum after many years working as a professor of mathematics at the University of Washington Tacoma. Mother of Anson and Zachary. Wife to Mark. President of the Mathematical Association of America 2021-2022. Past-President of MAA 2023.

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