Snow!!!!!!

It snowed lots Thursday night. I was really brave and drove to school Friday morning. It took an hour plus instead of the usual 25 minutes. My poor little car is underpowered for the snow, so it won't drive over through where the snow is deeper than six inches, so in some places I had to dig it out with my hands (I need to buy a shovel) so I could drive. My car shimmied around on the road some, but not too bad. I got to school and I was like no way am I doing this all winter. Public transit here I come. Got to the class I teach and there weren't many kids. I asked where they were, and the class looked at me a bit incredulously and said, that is a bad snowstorm, probably none of the off campus people will be here. I was like, what?!? They said there were 47 wrecks on the main road this morning alone. I was so thankful I had made it to school in one piece and was glad to hear perhaps the driving might not always be that bad. Still.... Planning on checking out mass transit!

A new take on the 'Freshman 15'

I received this email from the President of the Montana State University system.  (He sends us emails every week, that I actually read because they are informative, to the point, and interesting!)  Anyway, the state of education here is VERY different from California!

Dear MSU Community,

Good morning! Today, let's discuss the "Freshman 15," an important MSU initiative that will help students reduce debt and succeed in college.

We know that there are many benefits to a university education, but a degree does not come easily. In addition to many challenges such as intellectual and workload demands and adjusting to campus life, there are financial challenges. In fact, since the recession of 2008, student debt has increased dramatically. 

We encourage students to take advantage of several resources offered at MSU. One of the easiest ways to reduce debt is what we call the "Freshman 15," whereby students (not only freshmen!) add weight not to their waistlines, but to their transcripts.

At all of our campuses, students who enroll in 13-18 credits pay the same tuition as those enrolling in 12 credits. In Bozeman and Great Falls, students can even take 19 or more credits with no additional charge. This means paying for 12 credits allows students to take at least 6 more credits without paying additional tuition! The savings are significant, ranging from $816 per semester for in-state students taking 15 credits at MSU-Bozeman to $2,485 for out-of-state students. The savings double with 18 credits!

Of course, the "Freshman 15" initiative is just one part of MSU's plan to help students. Last year, our new Office of Student Success at MSU-Bozeman provided 6,500 hours of free tutoring, and we expect to surpass that this year. MSU-Bozeman's new First Year Initiative helps students make the transition from high school to college, and our one-on-one advising soon will be greatly enhanced with a degree-planning software that will free up advisers to spend more time mentoring students. With help from a grant from the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, MSU will also increase its financial literacy education to students and their families to help them make wise choices about paying for college. And, we've added $1.1 million at MSU-Bozeman for financial aid for Montana resident students.

I understand that the "Freshman 15" strategy isn't for everyone, but I would like to encourage students to give it a try and to take advantage of other resources that are available through MSU. We know that students can achieve more, and MSU faculty, staff and administrators are here to help! 

Have a great week,


Waded Cruzado
President

Snow comes and snow goes....

Snow in the morning, sun in the afternoon... Crazy weather

California girl does NOT do snow....

I was 12 minutes late to class today...Surprisingly there were still students there.  So I gave them 5 extra quiz points for being there, on the caveat that they get to explain today's lesson to the students who missed the class on Friday.  Which will be awesome because then they will really, really understand it!

But...I bought a heater last night.  I couldn't take the freezing cold in my apartment anymore, and it works great!  But this morning I woke up and there was snow.  It wasn't supposed to snow.  I am sure everyone got a hoot out of the California girl.  First I tried to brush the snow off my car, but that wasn't working, so I got my kitchen broom and started sweeping it off the car.  Only to discover there was ice.  (By the way - I went to fill my car up with gas last night, and couldn't get the cover to the gas tank open because it was frozen shut.  Fortunately the people at Costco were very nice and helped me get it open.)  I turned the car on and let it run for 15 minutes, but that didn't touch the ice on the windows.  And I don't yet have a scraper (that is on my list to buy today, along with new windshield wipers, as mine leave the window very smeary and impossible to see through).  After improvising other methods, I gave up and got some lukewarm water and with some practice managed to get the ice to melt without the new water refreezing.  (I also understand now why everyone leaves their windshield wipers sticking out from their car when they park.  So they don't freeze to the window.)  In the process I managed to bust my lip open so my face was bleeding and freezing!  This entire process took about 40 minutes, and I hopped in the car to leave and promptly left the cheese enchiladas I made for breakfast/lunch on the counter.  Sigh.  Made it to school and thought I would only be about 2 minutes late.  Oh wait.  I got stuck in the parking lot of doom.  Like the JC parking situation, but worse because of snow and mud.  Finally got back out and parked out by the football stadium.  Hoofed it in and made it to class only slipping a few times on ice.  The students said I looked CRAZY when I came in - face was bright red, my lip was still bleeding everywhere.  But they were really nice....one of the girls was like...Miss Schaefer, your face is bleeding.  I was like, still?  They were like - they don't really have snow and ice where you are from do they?  Noooo......
Lesson learned.  Either take the bus OR get up super early to get car cleaned off and get to campus really early to get decent parking.  Sigh.  California girl NOT sure about this snow thing.  Hopefully the rest of the day will go better....
These are just a few pics I got with my iPad quick this morning.  I will take some more today and try to get them posted...Don't be deceived, it looks like a light dusting on the car....it was actually 3-5 inches deep over the car.

Outside my front door....

Public Restrooms...

Sorry for the lack of posts....my RSD was bothering me this past week.  I am starting to feel like I am understanding my classes better, so that is good!  My students had another midterm...  Sadly, I could predict which were going to do well and which weren't as well.  They are all capable of doing well, but as the old saying goes, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink."  Sigh.  Why would someone spend so much money on an education and not study?

Ok - I have a gripe about public restrooms.  And no, it is not about the level of cleanliness.  It has to do with the design!  For example, at Sonoma State, the women's restrooms in the math building are designed such that the sinks are nearest the door.  Good plan.  BUT, if you want to get a paper towel to dry your hands, you wash your hands near the door, then walk practically to the back of the restroom where the papertowels are located, then you have to walk by all the people at the sinks again.  WHY wouldn't you put the papertowels next to the door.  Wash your hands, grab a papertowel, then out the door.  Why walk back and forth and back and forth in the restroom.  Highly inefficient.

It appears Montana State has a similar problem.
(PS - I took this picture at like 2 am when NO ONE was here, so I wasn't invading anyone's privacy).  How, pray tell, is someone supposed to use the hand dryer while someone else is using the sink?  Only one or the other can ever be in use at any one time.  If someone is standing at the sink washing their hands, the hand dryer is unavailable for use!  And vice versa.  If someone is drying their hands, then you have to wait for them to finish before you can wash your hands.  There were plenty of other places the hand dryer could have been mounted, but they chose this spot?  Does anyone think through the logistics and efficiency of public restrooms?

Well there is an easy solution to this.  Use the restroom on the second floor of the math building.  Yes, that one has its own personal quirks too.  Someone didn't situate the doors on the stalls properly.  So one of the stalls, once you close the door, it is nearly impossible to reopen it is so snug in the door frame.  I actually contemplated standing on the toilet and climbing over the stall door to get out one time.  The stall next to it, the door doesn't stay closed.  So then it is a juggling act of trying to use your backpack to keep it closed, or if you don't have your backpack, then a hand or foot to hold the door closed.  I have yet to decide which is the worse stall.  These two stalls are adjacent, which means the door frame between the two stalls is not placed correctly, making the door stick on the one side, and not stay closed on the other.

I feel like it shouldn't be that hard to design a properly functioning public restroom.  But alas, I fear I am wrong in that belief.

Happy October...

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.... I have had some ongoing health issues...
The snow has melted, but rumor has it that it will be back soon!
But, here are some pictures:

Linfield Hall - where I teach College Algebra

Bobcat at the Alumni Plaza

Entrance to Montana Hall - the brickwork is amazing!

The tree in front of Wilson Hall (the math building) - to me it looks like the tree has a face...

Walt Whitman statue in the Wilson hall courtyard.  People often sit next to him!

Sunset outside by apartment...

Oddities

Walked out the front door and discovered this couch!
The Ewok Haiku was left by the custodian in one of my classrooms

Snow melted :(

The snow melted... We had big flakes swirling around today, but it didn't stick. There is snow up in the mountains though!
This other picture is a note that our custodian left in one of my classrooms. Terry is always leaving us funny messages on the blackboards. Usually about Ewoks though! Lol!

First Snow in Montana

Yesterday when I was out doing errands, I overheard people talking about the possibility of snow...  so I looked at a nearby newspaper, and sure enough it predicted snow!

I got up this morning excited, but...
no snow in Belgrade :(
Although, it did feel cold enough to snow!

So I drove to school,
happy that I didn't have to drive in snow,
but bummed thinking the weatherperson had it wrong.

But as I came up the off-ramp on 19th Ave, I saw a little bit of snow on the ground.  The closer I got to campus, the more the snow was coming down!  SNOW!!!!!!

in the parking lot at school

Football Training Field

Snow blew into these fence railings

Tennis Center, near the stadium...I park out this way most days...

School Parking Lot

The 'noodle' - a piece of art by the engineering building

Walt Whitman...

Sorry to all you Santa Rosa and Davis people in your 100 degree weather!

Fall Festival in Belgrade

Saturday morning I woke up and there were cars parked everywhere on my street.  The picture below is what my street normally looks like.  The one on the left, you can see all the cars!

So I asked people what was going on and they said it was the Fall Festival (put on by the Beldgrade Parks and Recreation Department.)  I missed the parade, but the festival after the parade is in a park that is only 2-3 blocks from where I live.  I can see if from my front door.  It was just on the other side of the railroad tracks.  So I decided to head over.  

There was awesome jumpy houses for the kids, and a bungee jumper thing, as well as a climbing wall.  There were also Horse Rides and a petting zoo.  And although it wasn't on, they had an awesome 'splash pad' play area.

There was also an old car show!

This was a really interesting event because they had lots of craft booths to walk through, people selling all kinds of things.  There was also a band!  It was an interesting cross between a crafts fair and an event that really appealed to kids and was geared for kids!

Kids were playing on the playground equipment too!  There was kettle corn, homemade jams and jellies, pulled pork sandwiches, shaved ice!!! (my favorite), cotton candy, and the firemen had a bbq going and were roasting meat!


All in all, it was a really neat thing to attend and see!  And I got some homemade jelly too!

Teepee on campus...

This morning on the way to teach algebra, I saw people constructing what I could guess was a teepee. It appeared like 4 sticks leaned together to make the shape of a teepee.  But I was in a hurry so I didn't have time to investigate.

Two hours later during my probability class, I could hear quite a commotion coming from the center of campus, so after class I went to investigate.  Turns out it WAS a teepee, and there were people here in full Native American dress to share their culture.   There were many many school kids here, and I heard them announce they have a pow wow here in April.

The unusual thing about it was that the people in full Native American dress were rapping, and as I walked up, the lines I heard were:

"Can't find a proctologist, Just like you can't find a double D bra in Alaska, ..."

Not entirely certain how that relates to Native American culture, but I stayed a bit longer.  You can play the video to hear a little bit of the next rap they were doing:

I got a picture of a kid playing by the teepee for my mommy, who works with little kids

Morning

Math Graduate Computer Lab

This is where I was last night working on my homework.  Since everyone else had gone home, I spread out everywhere.  The school runs on a Linux system, and I had my MacBook too.  This lab is pretty small, but the math grad students can use it any time day or night.  Classes are NOT scheduled in this room, so it is pretty nice to have a quiet-ish place to study and I haven't had to fight anyone for a computer since only math grad students can work in there.

The next two pictures are my walk in from the parking lot this morning.  Wish y'all could have been here, as these pictures do NOT do it justice (iPad doesn't take the best of pictures...).  The sky was amazingly beautiful.  Both of these pictures overlook the field where the football team practices their drills.

One of the classes I am taking is Numerical Linear Algebra and Optimization.  One thing we are working on is doing image compression (using a computer) and writing our own code.  So we take an image and 'read' the information in it into a computer file, and then we look at ways of making the file much smaller, without distorting the image too badly!  This is similar to the process that happens if you have a digital camera that takes many megapixel images and then you store them as much smaller files....
On the picture below, you can see the original image and each of the adjusted images.  The smaller the 'rank', the smaller the file, although the image can end up distorted.  The trick is to have a small file AND a decent image.

Bunnies LOVE cereal!

Pi and Jack getting some Cheerios!  (This was a gift from their Aunt Helen!)  

They LOVE Cheerios!  (And yes, Jack squeezed into the bag and got some Cheerios too!)

This is Pi.  He is attempting to get some chocolate cereal.  

My sister Joanna got him addicted to this cereal over the summer...
Pi is blind, but he is DETERMINED to get cereal!

My Students take their first TEST!

OK - I know it has been quite a bit since I posted....SORRY!  My RSD has been a bit out of control and it has been all I could do to manage teaching with the classes I am taking, not to mention they had two different exams in a week (plus quizzes and homework) in the College Algebra class I am teaching.

TEACHING COLLEGE ALGEBRA
The COLLEGE ALGBRA MASTERY EXAM - They had two tests in the last week and a half.  The first is called a 'Mastery Exam'.  It had two questions which pretty much summed up the material from the first few weeks.  Not only do they have to solve the problem, but they must write about their problem solving process, so they get graded on correct answer, communication, and strategy.  They MUST get 100% on this exam.  If they don't, there are two additional versions of the exam they can take until they do get 100%.  (Or if they don't pass on the last one, they just get whatever grade they get).  The professors here have found that it does two things - more students do better in the class (and pass) because they are forced to learn certain concepts, and it boosts their confidence in doing math.  HOWEVER, each time they don't pass, they have to meet with me and go over the problem.  Nearly all of my 40 students had to meet with me and go over the problem, which was like 8 hours of my time at least, before they could take the second version.  So far they have all passed, with about 5 students left!
MY STUDENT'S FIRST MIDTERM - Then Wednesday night they all had to come for a 'common hour' exam.  All 15 classes of college algebra come on the same night at the same time, and take this test.  They find the biggest rooms on campus and schedule us into them.  And not only that, but we also check IDs to make sure students aren't sending their roommates to take the exam for them!  It was crazy having so many students in one room with us teachers walking around.  That was the SLOWEST hour.  I know when I take tests, it seems like the time goes way too fast.  Turns out when you are giving them (and you have to walk around - no computer, no nothing), time moves horrifically slow!  So the last two days I have been grading these tests.  We do group grading, which means each teacher gets a problem (like I got problem #6A), and I have to grade just that problem for EVERY STUDENT in college algebra - so like 600 students.  They have this whole system worked out for switching the tests and getting them to each instructor for grading, but YIKES!  I have about 400 done, and have another 150 or so to do...  I am getting very fast at grading that problem!

HOMECOMING WEEKEND
Turns out all the big tough math and science classes have common hour exams.  And they were all this week.  Poor students have brains of jelly now.  However, they are free and clear to celebrate football and homecoming this weekend, so that was a smart plan by the school!  Also - people here are REALLY into football.  A large chunk of the people I saw today were dressed in school gear with their faces painted!

RANDOM THOUGHTS
It is really bizarre to walk around on campus and everywhere I go I hear people talking math and science.  A handful of odd casual conversations, but almost everyone talking math and science as they walk to and from places!
And they have Huckleberry soda here :)  It is yummy!

BUBBLEGUM UNDER THE TABLE
Turns out bubblegum under the table is useful...I really needed some tape to put a sign on the door, but couldn't find any anywhere.  So....a guy suggested seeing if we could pull gum off from under the table and 'rehydrate' it with water from the drinking fountain and it would work as an adhesive.  Turns out it worked very well!

JACK & PI
Jack and Pi are doing well - having claimed BOTH the kitchen and under the couch as their home base!  Jack is super talented at running up AND down the stairs to my bedroom!  I am fairly certain that Pi sends him up to wake me up and feed them when they are hungry!

School Days...

So...I guess technology has its problems everywhere....There are 7 different logins and associated passwords I have to know, depending on what part of the MSU system I am trying to access by computer!  I gave up and wrote them down.  If someone steals them....well maybe they will pay my school bill or do my homework for me?!?

To catch you up....I haven't been doing much except school, school, and more school, with a side of unpacking here and there!  Teaching is going really well (I love teaching)!  I teach M/W/F from 10-11. I attend a probability class from 12-1 on M/W/F.  And then I have two classes on T/TH from 1050-130.  I also have assorted office hours, time in the Math Learning Center, and a few meetings.  It keeps me nicely busy, but not insane!  I have a few more stories, but I have to (get to?) head off for a math party!

I did go get the key to my mailbox!  Apparently I am considered living in the boonies!  So I am on a rural post office route.  Which means there is a mailbox cluster every other block or so, and in the cluster, each dwelling is aside a locked box.  So I had to go to the Post Office with my lease, and pay $10 for my key!

So I have much more to write, BUT I have to dash, so I leave you with a few pictures...

Street sign where I live

Down the road, east of me

Friday sunset, with haze from the fires

My apartment building - I live on the end!

Belgrade Water Tower, I can see from my front door!