I haven't told any stories from work lately. When not at work I've been busy with coursework. I took Algebra and Algebraic Topology this semester. There is an Amazon review that reads something like "An entire generation of mathematicians will hate Algebraic Topology because they will have learned it from Hatcher's book." I think an entire generation of students here will hate Algebraic Topology because of the individuals who teach it.
Work has been interesting this year. A different group of kids has given us an entirely different dynamic. We haven't had any major issues to deal with in the room with the older kids. However, we have come to the point where we are staying inside now. The boys enjoy playing basketball in the gym. J. and D. are back at their antics again. They can't stand each other and when playing basketball together it looks like they are playing something closer to rugby.
J. shoved D. and I had J. sit out a little bit in order to calm down. We had the following coversation:
J.: You don't care about me.
Me: Yes I do J.
J.: No you don't. You're always trying to get me in trouble.
Me: You think I'm too hard on you?
J.: Yes, and so do my parents.
Me: I do care about you J.
J.: No you don't. You treat D. like he's your grandchild.
There was nothing I could say that would convince J. that I cared about who he is and how he's doing. He was obviously being a little irrational in his assessment. Once we'd talked for the better part of ten minutes J. had calmed down enough to go and play ball again. I hope things go better than they did last winter. D. is somewhat melodramatic. He was running down the floor, tripped over my foot, flailed his arms, went five feet, and yelled, "J. shoved me!" This, as you can imagine, gets old in a hurry.
The more and more I thought about it I realized that I've never had the "You don't care about me" conversation with a child that I didn't care about a great deal. I think J. wanted me to tell him that I care about him. It was pointed out to me that it may have been the case that no one had told him that they cared about him recently. Whatever the case I hope he walked away from the day knowing I care about who he is and that I enjoy him being around.
C. is a kindergarener who has had a hard time getting along with his peers. He has hit, kicked, and thrown things at others. I'm pleased to say that things are changing. I have no idea what has brought about this change but he is getting along with the other kids better.
3 weeks ago we were outside on the playground and C. had kicked someone. I went and talked to him and before I finished he walked away from me. I told him to come back. At that point another child had gotten hurt and I took a knee to assess the injury. It was at this point C. ran up to me, put his face directly in front of mine, and said, "What did you want to tell me?" It was the first time I'd noticed his big brown eyes, but what struck me the most was the intensity that those eyes contained at that moment.
The 5th graders are starting to learn algebraic concepts through word problems. They find this difficult and have been asking numerous questions. It is enjoyable to share math with them. A. and K. both enjoy math at least a little bit, but I'm not sure that they would admit it. The 5th graders also work well together minus a couple of exceptions.
Graduate applications are coming together. The applications themselves have all been submitted. Now the only issue is to get the supporting documentation submitted. I'm going to get a portion of that done tomorrow. GRE scores and transcripts will have to wait until the semester is over.
I've been thinking about what would have happened had I discovered European literature before I discovered math. Had I discovered it earlier in my undergraduate career I may have ended up with another major. Anyway, it is crazy interesting to read. I may have ended up knowing a couple of different languages to. At any rate it is interesting to think about. Right now I'm reading Dostoyevsky's The Gambler.
Laters,
Biggest Meow