and ebullient
RYS post ever,
appeared.
I remember it well,
thinking,
what an odd group we are,
and how lovely.
It went like this:
woot!
no students
no administration
just sweet sweet mathematics
It was,
of course,
the first academic
haiku.
I hope that proffie
is still out there.
It's another May morning.
I hope the pencils are sharp,
and the paper in abundance.
Yes, one day
ReplyDeleteSummers future will be like summers past
Doing math, writing papers
Visiting math friends at faraway places
But not this one. Instead
Trading barbs with adminidiots continues
While interviewing in foreign countries
(For this one has lost its luster)
Maybe emigrating, too
With my adventurous sweetie
But before that
Kayak fishing in the lake
One last time
We had a saying at the place where I used to teach: it would be a great place to work at if it wasn't for the students.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how many math people are on CM. Science, engineering? Not that many (apparently). But English, the humanities, math: quite a few. Must be related to the amount of gen-ed teaching we have to do.
DeleteAlthough I was teaching in a technical discipline, it was as if I was doing so in a general education field. Most of my students were poorly-prepared, even though they finished high school shortly before. They could barely manage basic algebra and their ability to clearly express themselves in lab reports was dreadful.
DeleteOften, when correcting their mathematical mistakes or errors in grammar and spelling, I got the usual "this isn't a xxxxx course". I once had a student complain that his class had "already been tested" on whatever I was pointing out and didn't think I should penalize them for any mistakes I found. So, was I to penalize him only for giving me a wrong answer and not how he got it?
He was speechless when I told him that the course I was teaching was where such background skills and capabilities would be applied. Unfortunately, my comment seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
I've closed the office door,
ReplyDeleteleft behind a towering stack
of blue books full of blah,
turned in my final grades,
and turned my eyes toward blue skies,
blue birds, blue blossoms,
and prose that swirls and
sings. Chaise longue, iced tea, sunshine,
and a book. Summer!
Still grading here, but it is, indeed, cheering to envision the author sitting down with pencils and problems on a lovely May morning. May we all have at least a few days of "sweet, sweet [fill in your beloved specialty here]" in the coming months.
ReplyDelete