First rugby match

I saw my first college rugby game Sunday; my nephew is on the Haverford College club team. I have to say, I enjoyed it tremendously.

It's an incredibly dumb-looking game. And from watching it it appears that both the people who made it up and the people who played at are in on the joke. Who invented the game like that? People rolling around on the ground banging into each other with no padding, throwing a ball this way and that and then occasionally kicking it. It's wonderful.

I like it much more than I like American football. Football is equally dumb, but they take themselves very seriously. I can enjoy a rugby game without even knowing the rules. I wasn't even sure there were rules, but there was a referee who occasionally took the ball away from people and gave it to someone else, so there's that.

There are a lot of great things about it, but I think my favorite no doubt is the throw-in from the sideline, which is a little bit like soccer throw hands except not at all. In a rugby throw in, you hold the ball with two hands and throw it, similar to soccer, but people from both sides are lined up to try to catch it. The trick appears to be you throw it up in the air high and everybody lifts there tall players up in the air to try to grab the ball before anybody else does. I've never seen anything like it. If seems like cheating, but it's sort of like a jump ball in basketball except that instead of jumping people are lifted.

In the game I saw today, one team was definitely better at this than the other at this, so the team that was not as good eventually stopped trying to get the ball and instead just tried to whack at the ball and the opponents' arms to keep them from getting it either. That left the ball just go roaming free and it was surprisingly effective. I guess sometimes it's easier to prevent someone else from doing something that it is for you to do that thing yourself.

The other thing I noticed is that there are certain plays in which before you pass the ball with your hands, you need to touch it to your leg for some reason. Rugby is not like soccer, they never just kick the ball around unless they're just punting (or whatever they call it) to push the other team all the way back into their own territory. But I know they have to do this like touch thing because they penalize the team for not doing it once. And I got the sense the ball has to touch their leg below the knee. I cannot imagine what possible significance that could have. I played a lot of sports in my life and I'm stumped.

I'm sure I'll go again, and I'm determined to not learn the rules, because it was too much fun not knowing to mess with it.

Who put the Web in webinars?

As a teacher, I get invitations to a lot of webinars. I really wish they could have actually named those something instead just sticking "web" on instead of "sem."

Today I got a couple for teaching economics. Since I don't teach elementary school, I wasn't so interested in the "Furry Economics Lessons Using Children's Literature" (yes, that's really a thing- it's on October 25 if you're interested), but "Using Dytopian Fiction to Teach Economics." has a certain apocalyptic appeal.

More ruminations on death

Something very like an email I'm about to send.

Dear _________,

It was nice seeing you at ___________'s birthday party. It's always nice to catch up and I look forward to meeting up with you in the Adirondacks.

I'm writing you now because I want to enjoy myself when we meet up, but at least part of the time that I'm with you now, I think about death. Not your death, mine. I don't think about death a lot, but for obvious reasons it pops into my head when I see you.

I need to get my act together and get a cemetery plot, and since you're president of __________ Cemetery and I don't know anyone else in the business, I figured I'd check in with you before I did anything else.

So how do you do this? Is it like making a reservation at a restaurant? Plot for 2 please, at 11:30AM on April 23, 2042. Or maybe later. Is it like that? Or do I go to the place and look for a nice spot?

I'm always aware when I'm at a particularly pretty gravesite that I'll be choosing the location in a kind of peculiar manner. Even though I'm the user of the product, the product is not for me- it's for everyone aside from me who happens to be there. My own satisfaction is pretty much guaranteed no matter what. There aren't a lot of things you can sell like that, are there? As a marketing person, that's intriguing.

So I want to be in the Jewish section for the usual reasons. I know there is one because your sign says so, but I've never been there. I've never been to the grave of anyone I know in Pennsylvania- I've been to cemeteries, but for parents of friends, not anyone I've ever met. I guess I ride my bike through them from time to time as well.

Anyway, I want something for me and my wife, but is there any way to give my kids the option of worming their way (so to speak) in there as well? Do you have to purchase a larger site than you need just in case or can you have something more optional? How about a sublet? Can you lease it to someone with the understanding that they may be moved to a less desirable spot at a later date? I'd give them a good discount. Are there laws about this kind of thing? I don't know what kinds of laws there are about dead people.

I'm way off track here. Can we set up a time to talk and have a walkthrough? I might as well walk it while I still can, right?

I look forward to speaking with you. Best to ____________.

Frank

Two things I was thinking about this morning

I slept badly and woke up early, so I went for a bike ride once the sun was up. There's a lot of traffic, so I have to pay close attention to the road most of the time, but it made me think about an important distinction.

Often, when I'm riding home I do the last couple of blocks on a major road. It's the quickest easiest way. There's another way on smaller roads, but it's longer and harder. But as I approached today, I thought, "I shouldn't go on that road, it's stupid." And then I thought, yeah, it is stupid, but the problem with it isn't that it's stupid, the problem is that it's dangerous.

For me at least, that's an important distinction to keep in mind. I do stupid stuff all the time. I'm a human being; it's hard-wired into me and I don't torture myself about it. Plus stupid stuff is often fun, and I like fun. Dangerous, however, is a whole 'nother matter, and even though I've ridden probably 20,000 miles on local roads without even coming close to getting in a serious accident, I always try to minimize the probability that my chosen action will kill me. Not a bad rule to follow in general, even when you're not riding a bike. When in doubt, pick the option less likely to result in your death. Yes, I like that.

The other thing I was thinking about is completely unrelated. I have a large number of college recommendations to write, and as always, many of the associated students are applying to the same schools. I have to be careful about not repeating myself, so when I think about the whole process I find myself kind of stockpiling superlatives. Because if I have 3 students applying to one school and I've said about all 3 that they're exceptionally good at learning new concepts, that would be kind of contrary to the meaning of exceptional. It's a good test of my ability to say roughly the same thing a bunch of different ways, so weird as it may sound, I'll enjoy it. And I like sound of stockpiling superlatives. It sounds very positive and makes me feel good.

Parts of speech

Given that "deplorables" is now a noun, can you be a deplorable? Like is the singular also a noun? If so, time to ramp up some paraphernalia. Baseball caps anyone?

What happened to me?

Notice how different the sense of that title is just from my putting a question mark at the end. But that's the sense I'm looking for.

Here's what I don't understand. I'm part of this group that's supposed to help out with all the new computer systems that we all should have been trained on before it was introduced. So since we haven't all been trained, there are a bunch of us more tech-savvy (is there possibly a more attractive term for this? I hate ______-savvy people) teachers who are supposed to help the others.

Since none of us have been trained, we all have these pockets of things we've learned. So tomorrow we have a meeting where we're supposed to make small groups and help them. When asked to choose which group we wanted to lead, everyone else went for things they were good at. I went for things I am not good at, just give me advance notice and I'll figure it out.

Yes yes, I'm contrarian, but that's not the point. When did I become not lazy and disengaged? Notice how the sense of that line is not changed the question mark. I've been less lazy as I've gotten older, partly because my energy level is weirdly higher and partly because of fear of impending death. But when did I get engaged like this?

Ultimately I think it comes down to my feelings about the students and my colleagues. I guess it's not surprising that this somehow leaks over into feelings about the so-called institution. In a way, I'm disappointed because I have a general dislike of institutions of all kinds, but ultimately it's okay.

Start of school metablogging

I look at a lot of my recent notes and, aside from the travelogues, they seem awfully serious and earnest. I'm certainly capable of being serious and it's important to be earnest, at least sometimes. But I think I used to write more funny stuff.

In a way that's okay, but in another it's terrifying. Oh god, am I becoming that person who insists on constantly imparting life lessons to people? I hate that guy. When I was younger I always imagined that I'd grow up to be some combination of a sage and a cranky guy yelling at people to get off of his lawn. The person who drones on and on about stuff that everyone else should understand is important!!! was never what I was shooting for.

Fortunately, it's not too late. I'm not really the best judge of these things, but based on people's reactions to things I say I have not totally lost the ability to be funny, so I just need to bring it back into what I write.

One week down, or one week is up?

What a great language, man. How can you use two exact opposite words to describe the same thing?

So the first week of school is over. It was a whirlwind. I got to meet all of the students I'll be working with in some capacity and eventually even teach a little bit.

I should note, for those participating in the office pool, that it was exactly 6 minutes into the first class when we were interrupted by a PA announcement. It took a whole day for the bells to stop working.

I have to admit that the teaching part was surprisingly challenging this week. I never felt completely over my feet, which is unusual for me. It was better by the end of today. I asked a couple of my students if I was making sense and they said I was, so that was reassuring. I don't think you can ever take for granted that what you think makes sense is comprehensible to anyone else. That's part of why I like working with people who ask lots of questions, because I can tell from their reaction if I've given them an answer that they can understand.

I've had a weird transition in my relationship with the school over the course of the last few months. I've suddenly gotten myself involved in all kinds of things directly relating to the running of the school. I've always avoided that kind of thing like the plague, because it can be a black hole that just sucks you in and never lets go. But I think I've felt free-er (how do you spell that anyway? "Freeer" doesn't look right) to talk about this kind of thing to people who are in charge of such things.

I think part of this is that I'm just feeling more comfortable with my place in school. Until recently, I was sure that at some point someone would figure out that I had no idea what I was doing and that they'd fire me. But it's too late, because I actually am pretty good at this by now. The other thing is that, through no fault of my own, a lot of people in the school seem to like and even respect me. Unfamiliar as that feeling may be (no need to get into psychoanalysis at this time), it's pleasant and can be useful if I want to get something done.

I know I said people like me "through no fault of my own" before, but I can tell you what I do. I listen. When I ask people how they're doing, many of them actually tell me because they know I really listen and respond to them. It's really not that hard and people seem to really appreciate it. Too bad I didn't realize it until I was 50 or so.

Sorry to get meta, but that was 5 straight paragraphs beginning with "I." That usually means it's time to stop.

What I want my students to know

Here's what's most important: I have a motto of sorts, which I try to live by and which I would like you to try to observe, at least in our classroom. It is short and simple.

Be where you are and do what you're doing.

Of course, simple and easy are not the same thing and this isn't the easiest principle to live by, but it works for me. I've rarely found myself in a stressful situation that could not be improved by my asking myself. "Where am I and what am I doing?"

So in math class, what that means is be present. Don't be doing other stuff or thinking about your other classes or obligations. Do math class when you're in math class. It will simplify your life and reduce your stress.

Never doubt that I'm on your side. Your job is to learn, and my job is to motivate you and help you. I might push you and prod you and test you, but my only purpose is to help you learn and grow.

I cherish the time I get to spend with you. I truly love my job, and classroom time is pretty much my favorite time of day. I do not enjoy making up or grading tests any more than you like taking them, but it's part of my toolkit to push you along.

A classroom is a two-way interaction, at least my classroom is. The more your participate, the more you buy into what we're trying to do, the better your experience and that of your classmates will be. Don't worry about sounding dumb, you won't. And don't worry about embarrassing or upsetting me, you won't. I will try to answer every question I'm asked in every class.

Because the interaction is essential to the success of the class, nobody is allowed to comment on what any student says except me. This is simply a matter of showing respect to a peer. No insults, no sarcasm, and no praise either. You never know if you've hurt someone's feelings until you've done it, and you can't ever unsay it.

I will try to not waste your time, either in class or with too much homework. I will be completely honest with you about the practical application (or lack thereof) of the particular work we are doing at any time. So you have to trust my judgement about the wisdom of working with material that may not seem valuable or interesting.

I need you to be honest with me and with yourself. Don't try to tell either one of us that you're busting your butt when you're not. It isn't really that hard to tell; I'm pretty observant. And along those lines, I promise I will try to always listen to you and be fully present when I do so. I expect the same from you, both with me and, more importantly, with your peers.

Students think this is kind of funny, but I'm not really a math person. I'm teaching math because I like to teach and math is something that makes sense to me. And math is a useful thing in the world; life is better if you can do some math. But I spend very little time aside from class and class prep thinking about math.

Finally, try to have fun. There's no such thing as boring material. The material is what it is, the boring part comes from how you approach it. Don't expect everything to be awesome. There are lots of great things that inspire absolutely no awe whatsoever. You just have to look carefully and think about what you're doing.

(I may edit or amend this, because I'm writing a parallel thing for parents and I want them to be complementary).