For most of the day I was caught simultaneously between thoughts of:

Wow, I can’t believe we’re already in week 4

and

OMG, I can’t believe it’s ONLY week 4

I wrote that on the Friday of Open House week two years ago. I generally feel this way every year at the end of Open House week (which was last week). 1

Usually, that is the longest week of the year, bar none.

But for some reason, this week totally kicked last week’s butt. And that scares me a little. 2 3

But while this week has been crazy long, it has been a good one.4

This is about the time of year when I feel like the students start to break out of their slightly nervous, semi-tentative, “not-sure-how-you-want-me-to-behave-in-here” shells, and begin to open up and start to feel comfortable with you as a teacher.

There was a moment during the week that, after finishing up for the day, I took a deep breath, and thought to myself, “Things are really starting to go well.” 5

Still though… this week needs to come to an end — quickly.

1. Maybe it has more to do with it being the fourth week. Maybe it has nothing to do with Open House. But I’m pretty sure it does. [↩]
2. I’m not sure that next is going to be better. And that scares me as well. [↩]
3. Hence the title of this blog post, which is the title of a Rascal Flatts song that I like a lot. But it’s a depressing song, so don’t listen to it unless you’ve braced yourself for a depressing country song. [↩]
4. Truth be told, every week has been a good one. And I’m thankful for that. [↩]
5. There have actually been a number of days thus far where I have thought to myself, “This was a good day. This is why I do what I do.” These first 4 weeks have certainly been special. [↩]

Every single school year, from mid-September through mid-October. 1

This is when you start seeing empty chairs, explained away by the choruses of “there’s something going around.”2

Every single year, this is literally the only time of the year that I fear missing work due to illness. 3

The consistency of the timing from year-to-year is fascinating, if you think about it much. 4

1. knock on wood [↩]
2. Knock on wood. [↩]
3. Knock on wood. [↩]
4. KNOCK ON WOOD. [↩]

Every once in a blue moon, I actually get to leave work before 5pm.

It doesn’t happen often.1

But when it does, oh man, it’s like the skies opening up, with swaths of light beaming down along with a heavenly chorus.

Today I introduced my students to “How Do You Feel Today”.2 Last year, I didn’t get to do these until week #7, but it was a slow morning, and I think this Monday demanded it.

I originally got this from my 11th grade English teacher3 and have since passed them on to every single one of my classes. They have nothing to do with math, but every now and then we need a nice distraction — even if only for a moment.

1. I’ll bet I can count the number of times all year on my two hands… keep in mind we work ~187 days or so. [↩]
2. I ask students to get out a half-sheet of paper, then pick a face that describes how they are feeling, and write 2 or 3 sentences explaining why. Hey, we’re trying to emphasize writing as a campus, so this year it almost actually fits! [↩]
3. who was probably my favorite of all of my high school teachers. Yes, my favorite high school teacher was an English teacher, not a math teacher. [↩]

Even in year 4 of teaching a class, sometimes I decide to scrap and revamp an entire lesson and homework assignment… at 10pm the night before that class.1

Just because something ain’t broke doesn’t mean it’s as good as it could be.2

On that topic: Last year was my 3rd of teaching AP Stat, and while there were about a half-dozen names with which I considered entitling it,3 I aptly settled on the following:

1. while watching Sunday Night Football and Breaking Bad, of course. [↩]
2. interestingly… while inserting the above image, I noticed a typo on the worksheet on the right =/ [↩]
3. one of the other names I considered for Season 3 of AP Stat is the title of this blog post [↩]

So I’m going back over the first day questionnaires that I gave to my students and reading them again (now that I actually know who everyone is). 1

Here are some of the questions that I ask them to answer, along with a few of the more intriguing responses that I got this year:

What did you do this summer?

• “Traveled the world (just part of it)”
• “Attended nuclear engineering camp at Stanford.”2

Do you have any hobbies?

• “Does shopping count as a hobby?”
• “I like to draw & eat.”

Why are you taking this class?

• “Because I took pre-cal & figured if calculus was anything close to it then I wanted to stay away from it.”
• “Counselors put me in the wrong class. I’m switching out.”3
• “To see math in a new light because the prior ‘lights’ have not been too great.”
• “To boost my GPA.”4
• “I wanted to take a class that would push me but not kill me.”
• “I was originally going to take something else, and… I thought, Hey! Mr. Youn kept trying to recruit me so why not?”5
• “…My sister told me her teacher taught her how to play poker at the end of the school year.”6
• “I heard you were a good teacher.”7
• “Because it makes me see things in a different light. I want to know other ways to skin a cat.”

How important is the AP Exam to you?

• “5 or die.”

Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? About how many hours a week? What about a job?

• “Hanging out with friends. 16 hours.”
• “Boyfriend.”
• “I have no outdoor activities.”8

Where do you plan to be after high school? College? If so, studying what?

• “Anything away from home.”
• “Out of the house.”
• “Hopefully a somewhat prestigious college studying something I’m passionate about.”

Do you have any other comments or questions for me?

• “Math doesn’t come naturally to me so you’ll see me in tutorials almost every day!”9
• “What nationality are you?”
• “Are you Korean?”
• “Do you speak Korean?”
• “I’m Korean whaaaat”
• “No.”

1. Because this sure beats the heck out of watching the Longhorns stumble against Ole Miss. [↩]
2. o_O [↩]
3. this kid actually decided to stay [↩]
4. I always find this amusing. Apparently AP Stat has a reputation as a “GPA booster” which is fair, to an extent… but deceptive to a few, I think. I really don’t mind as long as the students can hack it. [↩]
5. Wow! it works!? [↩]
6. lol! That teacher was NOT me! [↩]
7. Aww! I get this more than I feel like I deserve, and every time I think the same thing: “I hope I don’t disappoint…” =/ [↩]
8. I think this kid misunderstood the question. Actually I think all three of these misunderstood the question. [↩]
9. this kid dropped after the 2nd day :( [↩]

(Disclaimer: this post has nothing to do with my life as a teacher)

Here’s the link.

Two things got my attention:

This will protect you from thieves trying to chop off your finger when they mug you for your phone.

The 5s sensor only works on live fingers. Nice. I guess the joke I made a few days ago isn’t something to worry about then…

But also: (emphasis mine)

Does fingerprint recognition work for everyone? No: guitar players, professional chefs, people who work in dry cleaners and chemical plants, and people in jobs that damage their fingertips will have problems.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.