before the dogs greeted me...

Last week I photographed art on the wall in the room I use at SCC. Today I bring the piece that hangs on the side of the house just outside their kitchen door at the home of one of my students I tutor. I knew the pieces were different but had a similarity to them and since they hang in separate locations, I had no way to really compare them except to photograph them. I got this shot off just before the puppies belonging to the family realized I arrived and came bounding to the door to welcome me. Therefore, my picture is slightly askew and no amount of photo touching would let me both straighten and crop the shot. So this is as good as it gets today.

f(x) = this!

My summer tutoring gig is backed by the fact that I once spent 10 years in public school teaching chemistry and physics. That means I can interpret coordinate plane graphs, find the slope of a line, as well as calculate the relation of linear equalities and inequalities. Thanks to a statistics course I took to count as a research language for my PhD, I can even do some standard deviation problems. Having the skills does not necessarily mean I enjoy doing the math - but I can't complain about the pretty penny summer tutoring offers me.

Oh, and lest you think I am being vulgar, the title of this entry simply means the function of x is this!

Back to the blackboard

I started my summer math tutoring sessions earlier this week and this evening I began my stint as adjunct professor at Somerset Christian College. I am currently teaching a course in Christian Spiritual Formation and am slated to teach courses in Environmental Science and Christian Ethics during the traditional academic year. The students I am currently working with are in a degree completion program and are highly motivated and very intentional students. I enjoyed meeting each one of them and look forward to our term together.
And about that blackboard - I really did end up writing on a black board this evening - it is real slate! There might be nice things you can do with colorful markers on dry erase boards, but there is something incredibly wonderful about the way chalk writes on slate - and it won't dry out like markers - chalk just breaks and keep on writing. Yeah, I am old school that way, and don't mind one bit.

Feels like a Friday!

It's almost just like I pictured and anticipated it yesterday! I had a busy day running around the district, handing in books, grade sheets, and had sessions with two separate students. At about 3:30 I turned in my time sheet to the Director of Student Services, and I was done, done, done with the 2009-10 school year!
I drove back to The Homestead, fixed myself a cool adult beverage to enjoy on the porch, grabbed my camera, book, and to-do list and sat down with my feet resting up on my Pilates ball. It isn't like I have absolutely nothing to do - I need to read for a Bible study I am attending this evening, get this blog entry done, and organize the to-do list with things about going to libraries, retrieving books to read for my dissertation, projects I hope to get done, and then go back inside and deal with some emails about summer tutoring and adjunct teaching I will be doing after the 4th of July.
But for right now, these couple of hours, I am in the sacred moment of excitement that comes with both completion and anticipation. I do the happy dance that celebrates the high school graduation of two extraordinary young women I had the pleasure to work with the last several months. I revel in the knowledge that the last 10 months of my involvement in public education has come to a satisfying and temporary close for the summer hiatus. (It's been a hard year and a long one for those involved in public education here in New Jersey - but that is a story for another blog entry by someone else.) And I begin to make plans for the summer months hoping that the change of pace will restore my energy packs even as I set about goals I wish to accomplish.
Since kindergarten, I've only had three years where my life wasn't ruled by a school calendar. I think that qualifies me to reliably testify that regardless of the side of the desk one occupies, there is just nothing that feels like the last day of school. It is simply bliss.

Princeton's Pettoranllo Gardens

I took my book, dinner, and the folding chair I keep stashed in my trunk these days to a local P'ton park and found a shady non-air conditioned spot to enjoy 45 minutes between tutoring appointments. The flower covered trellis just added to the ambiance.

Rest stop

Taking my late afternoon break in a park today and
avoiding the traffic of downtown Princeton.
Ahhhh.

Mobile Office

Before taking the plunge into theological education 12 years ago (!!?!!) I taught science for New Jersey public schools. My last year in teaching I had so many classrooms I used a cart to wheel my materials around the science department. These days as I work on this terminal degree, I tutor for the Princeton Regional School District and provide instruction for students who are home bound for a variety of reasons. I still teach science as well as math, history, and English when the need arises. It arises pretty often, because right now I have 4 students and 7 different subjects. My teacher prep area is now located in the trunk of my car and I use Michelin tires to wheel my stuff from house to house to meet with my students. The old adage is true; the more things change, the more they stay the same!

No overdue fines for me!

My status as a homebound instructor for
Princeton Regional Schools entitles me to a public library card.

It is a fabulous library and I enjoy my borrowing
privileges for books, audio books, and DVDs
for personal enjoyment as well as professional need.

Like other patrons, I need to obey the due dates so I got here
late this afternoon to return some DVDs I enjoyed during the recent snowstorms

Inside the lobby is a rather cool tile mural

Each time I view the mural I never fail to spot something new