One week until the start of classes for Winter 2023. I get up in the morning and think “this is the day I will accomplish what I need to be ready to teach.” By the evening I feel further behind than when I started. I know I got things accomplished but I want time withContinue reading “December 27 Day 1024: I promise I’m trying”
Tag Archives: anxiety
June 24 Day 838: Cancelled
Like so many travelers in the world right now, our flight has been cancelled. I learned this when I checked the app before going to bed. There it was on the welcome screen in a colored box under the flight travel time CANCELLED. I clicked on the link and it invited me to rebook myContinue reading “June 24 Day 838: Cancelled”
January 17 Day 680: Reboot
This will be my third week of a 10-week quarter and my first week in-person. I am grateful to have a small enrollment of 17 students and am looking forward to meeting them face-to-face for the first time. I’m nervous—it feels more like a first day than a fifth day. I plan to arrive 45Continue reading “January 17 Day 680: Reboot”
January 8 Day 671: Time Out
I. Just. Couldn’t. Be. Productive. I have said it before and I will say it again, the most difficult part of this whole ordeal is the uncertainty. And yesterday was jam packed with it. So, I did a little grading. Mostly I retreated from anything remotely connected to teaching, the University, and professional obligations. InsteadContinue reading “January 8 Day 671: Time Out”
September 27 Day 568: Drowning
My classes at UW Tacoma begin in 43.5 hours; last night was my first anxiety dream in a long while. It felt like the eye of a hurricane. Walls of water surrounded me. Waves crashed through in slow motion and I knew there would be no escape. I had enough presence of mind to callContinue reading “September 27 Day 568: Drowning”
March 16 Day 373: Finally Got It Figured
No teacher likes to wait in office hours for students to show up and ask questions. This quarter I instituted a rule that if no one arrived with questions in the first 15 minutes, I was not obligated to stay. Tonight was my last evening drop-in hour for Winter Quarter 2021. The oral final examContinue reading “March 16 Day 373: Finally Got It Figured”
February 7 Day 336: Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends, Once More
For many warriors of the classroom coronavirus battlefield, Spring semester is about to commence. Whether you are in person, hybrid, or remote, whether you started 5 weeks ago or will do so this week, you might be facing the coming work with a little trepidation. Remember, you are not alone. Despite the isolation, despite theContinue reading “February 7 Day 336: Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends, Once More”
October 5 Day 211: Anxiety is Everywhere
I woke up from an anxiety dream this morning. It was a classic unprepared-for-lecture-sure-the-people-would-figure-out-I-was-an-imposter dream. I don’t get them often. In fact, the last one was back on July 4 Day 118: Anxious Dreaming, and it was about teaching classes this autumn. I know that these dreams are manifestations of my worries and doubts. I tryContinue reading “October 5 Day 211: Anxiety is Everywhere”
July 4 Day 118: Anxious Dreaming
I usually don’t remember my dreams. But last night was different—a classic anxiety dream about teaching on the first day of the Fall Quarter to come. The location was a cross between an upscale mall and the Museum of Glass. Tables and chairs (and couches on bleachers) were set-up around glass sculptures and art displaysContinue reading “July 4 Day 118: Anxious Dreaming”
Math in the Time of Corona 