As I sit here at my computer, I can hear thunder rumbling outside. Last week was above average heat-wise. The temperature climbed to the high 80s/low 90s and the normal for this time of year is in the low 80s. But I think that this week's storms will be the end of the hot season and we'll finally hit Fall.
All I have left to do for my classes this semester (in terms of prep work) is to write the final exams. I was about to write that sentence without the parenthetical, but then I realized that I still have to do all the teaching and grading, which is a non-trivial part of the workload. I think part of the reason for this perspective is that I've got a lot of stuff to do in advance of next semester.
I talked about the new math remediation program that we're going to try to implement, and pretty soon I'm going to have to get that organized. I need to...
* Talk to the instructors who are teaching it to let them know what's going on
* Put together a packet of worksheets so that the bookstore can get them printed in time for the students to purchase them when they purchase their textbooks
* Build the course webpage
* Hire a tutor specifically for the class
* Prepare a talk for the New Orleans conference in January
And I'm also teaching a new class next semester. History of Math is a class that I've never taken and never taught, so I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how exactly I want to structure it. Since it's a history-focused class, I can't quite handle it in the same way that I handle my other classes. It's still a math class, so there will still be an element of mathematical proof involved, but it's going to be significantly less technically intense than my other classes. I'm probably only about 40% through the reading that I want to do, and only about 1% through the planning. I don't even have a schedule for when I want this stuff to get done.
I'm also teaching Math 097 next semester, which I haven't taught in a couple years now. It's not really a "hard" class to teach, but I still need to get it all organized. I've changed how I do things over the last couple years, so I suspect that the notes will need to be updated, and I'll probably need to create more worksheets. Yes, I'm big on in-class worksheets. It's the best way to give quick feedback to the students so that they do not develop bad habits and wrong methods.
Speaking of worksheets, I also need to make them for the linear algebra class. But at least for that class, the notes are already done. The last time I taught that course it was a small disaster. The students who came to it were dramatically under-prepared for upper division math (ARL students = Alternative Route to Licensure), and they were the bulk of the students.
I like that we have ARL students because it's important to get more teachers out there. But I don't know how many times I had to tell them that this is an upper division math class, not a middle school math class. I'm not going to teach them as if they are kids. I'm not going to hold their hand the entire class. I'm going to expect them to read their textbook (gasp!) and learn from the in-class notes and problems, and from the examples and problems in the book.
This time, it looks like I'll have a good bunch of students who I've already had for a couple semesters, and they will help keep the pace of the class from being dragged down.
I bought a jar of herring in sour cream from the store today. I was actually just buying some smoked salmon when I saw the jars and made the additional impulse purchase. I'm not sure why I felt compelled to do that. I guess I was feeling adventurous. It tastes exactly like how you would expect pickled herring in sour cream to taste. I can't eat more than a few pieces of it straight, but I think with either bread or potato it should be a little bit easier. It doesn't taste bad, but the sourness of the pickled herring is just a little too much without something to soften the flavor (according to the internet, it's commonly served with a starchy food, and I would guess that this is why). My other idea is to make a salad with it and use the sour cream like a dressing (or to supplement a dressing).
