Happy Moment #13: New Challenges

I may do longer blogs about two new challenges in my life later this semester but I wanted to do a quick update about two new challenges that I am taking on this semester.

First -- math! I know that it might sound crazy but I have been thinking about reviewing my math skills for the last year or so. Partly, this is a result of working at the fabric store. I learned pretty quickly once I started working there that I needed to use math to help our customers (i.e. "How much binding do I need to buy to complete this quilt I am holding in my hands?"). Sure, I was able -- with the awesome help of my colleagues -- to realize that the area = 2 times the length plus two times the width. I would then divide this number by 40 (most of our quilting fabrics are just over 40 inches wide). The result of that calculation tells me how many strips the customer would need to cut but then multiplying that number by the inches for the binding (usually 2.5 inches) results in letting me know how big of a piece of fabric the customer needs.

Now you see where the math is playing with my head! Even though I get how to do this calculation, I am finding that math comes into my life a lot at the store. And I am tired of obsessing over how terrified I was getting. And we really should take on the things that scare us, right? So I tried to do a (free) online math class a few months ago but it was a no-go. I think for a subject like this, I need to do in person so I can ask an instructor questions as I go along. Luckily, I work at a college! So .... I signed up for a developmental math class (just under college level) and I now find myself in an Intermediate Algebra course!

So far, so good! I am studying and doing my best and I am actually having a little bit of fun! The subjectivity that is inherent in writing instruction (on some level) is so absent from the cold hard "truth" of the numbers I find myself working with. The fact that 5 of my current students happen to be in the same class makes the situation a little "odd" but hopefully this can only help me with my own students (and I certainly "get" the nervousness that our students might experience in our classes -- math is a good reminder for me of encountering knowledge that doesn't come naturally).

Second -- teaching Shakespeare! I was assuming this class would get cancelled this semester due to low enrollment ... but it didn't and so I had to pull together a course I have never ever taught in my entire life. Slight panic. And I am not a Shakespearian scholar at all. So a little more panic! Sure, I have read Shakespeare but it was perhaps close to 20 years ago. The class is small -- just 7 students -- but so far I am having a blast (and these 7 students are mature in terms of attacking the plays; most of them are getting ready to graduate in the Spring!). The course focuses on the Romances and the Tragedies and so Romeo and Julliet seemed a good place to start. We are well into Act 2 and the class has been so much fun! We do close readings and talk about the most interesting comments: Should the play be titled Juliet and Romeo? Does love at first sight exist? How does fate play a role in our lives? I am showing them two PBS series little by little throughout the semester as we read the plays and the students have already expressed how much they love the productions (Shakespeare Uncovered and In Search of Shakespeare). I do find myself working hard to stay just ahead of the students (it has been forever since I read these plays) but I am enjoying the class so far! I struggle with the language too but this is so good for my head!

So yes to new challenges! I am sure that I will be writing more about these two courses at some point this semester but I wanted to introduce these two new challenges!