So my work as an SAT tutor is finished until September. I have to say I really loved working with small groups of extremely motivated and polite kids in extremely luxe settings like country clubs and penthouse floors of office buildings. You are probably thinking, “Sounds great! What’s not to like?” and you would be right to ask. The answer is nothing. It was awesome. However, it did take up some precious time of which I have little since I am always planning my classes and grading at my full time job.
So now that I don’t have to worry about teaching anything but the math at my ‘real’ job, I have a little bit more free time. And you know what I find myself doing? Math.
Since I got here, I have learned SO MUCH math all over again. I mentioned this in a previous post that I wrote back in October. In the last eight months I have relearned much more. For example, right now I am teaching juniors in high school a unit on graph theory. I didn’t learn graph theory until I took topology as a math major. These kids are learning it and eating it up. Mind you, I have had to research graph theory, relearn it, and find a way to make it highly entertaining and applicable to real life which is no small feat. The same goes for logic and syllogisms with the seniors. But relearning all of this math has given me an appetite for more math. I forgot how much I loved math because I have been teaching y=mx+b for so long and for such a huge portion of every school year. I forgot how interesting and fun math is. I forgot how each topic in math is completely interdependent on many other math topics. I forgot how useful math is in so many contexts. I freaking love math. I love it!! How could I have forgotten?
So even though this job has given me heartburn and stress zits, it has also given me back my love of mathematics. For this I am grateful. During my time off, I plan to take Precalculus and Calculus in Spanish on coursera.org. I can improve my academic language skills and cement my long lost calculus knowledge at the same time. And I hope that I will be able to find a way to put this newfound love to good use. We will see!
On a non-math note, E has been studying for the IELTS – a test to check your English levels. He was going to school every night for two hours and finally the course ended and he took the test on which he did quite well. We went out for a celebratory lunch at Sur, a posh little Argentinian restaurant. Fun. And this past weekend, E wanted to go see Fito Paez, an Argentinean singer. He took me and it turned out to be a great concert. Watch the video below. It my favorite song that he sings. And for those of you who want to practice your Spanish, it’s a perfect video for doing so! All the lyrics float through the screen as you watch! Warning: He has a really thick Argentinean accent! I also included two pieces of hilarious student work that I had to document. My students are so smart and funny!
**A few people wrote to me to let me know that the video cannot be watched in the US. I am including a different link for a different version of the song. No words floating on the screen. However this video was filmed in Viña del Mar, one of the places E and visited in Chile.
Magpie B 