Imagine with me, the best possible scenario for Fall 2020. There are face-to-face classes and no worries about “the curve,” a second wave, or financial repercussions. Faculty and students have adapted new skills learned in isolation to increase access and inclusion in the classroom. We appreciate the opportunities and acknowledge the privilege of our involvementContinue reading “May 7 Day 60: Are you my student?”
Category Archives: Pandemic
May 6 Day 59: Interaction Achievement Unlocked
Online remote teaching days that feel the most successful have lots of positive interaction between me and my students. Today was perhaps one of the best in a long while. My students are agile and moved with me as I switch between technologies. Here is today’s inventory: Google slide where students indicated standards they mostContinue reading “May 6 Day 59: Interaction Achievement Unlocked”
May 5 Day 58: First Approximation
The puzzle presented on May 2, Day 55: Small Start gives a first approximation to the participant placement algorithm in a Zoom meeting room. Provided all participants use their cameras, placement seems dependent on the order in which we signed into the meeting except that each person appears in the “second” position of their ownContinue reading “May 5 Day 58: First Approximation”
May 3 Day 56: Not Even Close To Normal
This year, I am giving myself a pass. I deem everyone that is alive, breathing, and teaching under these stressful conditions is meritorious.
May 1 Day 54: Ask for help. Offer help.
Despite having written these words on March 13 Day 5, I’m not particularly good at asking for help for myself. I’m much better at asking for help for others. A student contacted me saying that they were not going to be completing the online homework for a while and didn’t want to be penalized. AsContinue reading “May 1 Day 54: Ask for help. Offer help.”
April 30 Day 53: Commitment Day
May first is Commitment Day. Tomorrow, college-bound seniors are supposed to have pledged themselves (and their family’s money) to the next step in their educational journeys. It’s exciting to think about new horizons, new discoveries, new friends, and new adventures. That first year of college is a chance to reinvent yourself–to leave your mistakes behind,Continue reading “April 30 Day 53: Commitment Day”
April 29 Day 52: The Beginning of the End?
Some academics are in the home-stretch of their semesters. They already have had or are about to deliver their last classes of the Spring. They are working on finals (or perhaps, forgoing finals altogether). I am always a little jealous of friends on semester systems with early end dates. Being on quarters, I will beContinue reading “April 29 Day 52: The Beginning of the End?”
April 27 Day 50: A Self-referential Celebration
As the title indicates, it has been fifty days since I started emergency remote teaching but more important than that, this is my 49th blog post. Personally, I don’t think multiples of ten are that impressive. Perfect squares however are a thing of beauty. Think about it with respect to birthdays: 0, 10, and 20thContinue reading “April 27 Day 50: A Self-referential Celebration”
April 26 Day 49: Love Letters
Dear Mathematics, I am more grateful than you can know that you are a part of my life. You make my pulse race when a solution is revealed. You inspire me towards creativity and persistence. You provided the foundation upon which I built my career. And you bring comfort—even when I don’t know that isContinue reading “April 26 Day 49: Love Letters”
April 24 Day 47 Part 2. Zooming for Community
People were not supposed to leave until they shared something for which they were grateful. I called out intentional community building–within my neighborhood, within my institution, and within the MAA. We may be physically distant but we are coming together to support one other.
Math Belongs to All of Us 