March 24 Day 1111: I Want to Believe
I’ve seen the Aurora Borealis twice in my life for sure. Once in my sophomore year of college in Williamstown, Massachusetts and once in Canada on my way to the Banff Research Center for a mathematics conference. I’ve been rather obsessed with seeing it again, dreaming of trips to Iceland or Alaska for an Aurora…
March 18 Day 1105: Just a Regular Member
This weekend was the MAA Pacific Northwest Section Spring Meeting at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. We enjoyed clear warm weather and uplifting mathematical talks. Usually at MAA Section meetings I have one or more obligations—whether giving a talk, participating on a panel, running a workshop, or attending executive committee meetings. Today, I had…
March 9 Day 1096: Mathematical Relations
Yesterday afternoon, my #TacomaMath colleagues Jenn Crump, Ander Erickson, and I delivered a (virtual) professional development session for teachers in the Tacoma area. One of the activities was to graph our relationship to math over time. Some of the results are given below: Notice only one response had a wholly positive experience. Everyone else had…
March 6 Day 1093: Where Were You?
It was three years ago today that UW President Ana Mari Cauce sent this email: The Friday morning message called for emergency remote teaching by the very next workday. The speed of the transition was dizzying. I was on a writing retreat at Pack Forest with a handful of my Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences colleagues.…
February 22 Day 1081: Math People
These people right here, they are my kind of people—math people. Not necessarily math majors but students choosing to spend their lunch hour participating in an Integral Bee. There was community, celebration, a few extra credit points, and yes…integrals. The Math Club at UW Tacoma organized it, advertised it, and made it a reality. Math…
February 1 Day 1060: Return to…
Normal? I’m not sure we’ll ever get back there. But its closer to “life before.” Today was a big day. I officially became the Past-President of the Mathematical Association of America. I loved my time leading this organization for the past two years despite the wrench that the pandemic through into my plans. My successor,…
January 29 Day 1057: Paper vs iPad grading
I spent at least 7 hours grading today—mostly exams on paper and some homework files submitted electronically. All of it was for students in the same class. First observation: When did everyone’s handwriting become so illegible? Second observation: Why do I think my tricks to decipher handwriting on the iPad will work on paper? I…
January 21 Day 1049: Of Rogues and Rabbits
Happy Lunar New Years Eve. That means it’s time to get excited for Monkeyshines in Tacoma. Thanks to Ms. Monkey and her monkey business, Tacoma gets the best present around Lunar New Year. She and her family make and hide glass medallions and orbs pressed with the Chinese zodiac symbol for the coming year. Over…
January 14 Day 1042: Only Two Weeks?
Its two weeks into the New Year and I haven’t managed a single blog post. It’s been two weeks of teaching. (Winter quarter starts early at UW.) Two weeks of late nights and early mornings. Two weeks of forging new connections while juggling old responsibilities. I will find my groove. I always do. I’m just…
December 31 Day 1028: Here’s to 2022
The last day of the year brings reflections on the past and hopes for the future. It was a good year with a rough start and a whirlwind finish. The delta and omicron strains of COVID required pivoting from our plans for a return to normal. But by summer, travel was back in full force…
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Math in the Time of Corona 