Zealous Advocate

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

What if that person that your friend is so zealously defending is dangerous? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Yarn Bag

My condo complex has a laundry/mail room. In it, there's a table where people can leave things they wish to get rid of. I once left some candy that I did not like, and the person who came in right behind me took a look at it and took it with her. 

Last week I went to retrieve my mail when I saw this on the table:

Well, of course I poked around. Stuck in the various balls and skeins of yarn were knitting needles and crochet hooks. And there was more yarn crammed inside.

I resisted. 

I don't really need any more yarn. I still have skeins and balls that are sitting, waiting for me to get some idea of what to do with them. I still have a couple skeins of that blanket yarn...

I finally figured out what to do with my leftover blanket yarn. I spied some kiddos at school toting around big, squishy amigurumi critters. Made out of blanket yarn! My mind is whirling. 

Now it's just a matter of finding the right pattern/critter that will work with the colors I have. I am not going to go out and buy more blanket yarn. I do not need any more yarn!

I need projects. And since nothing is really calling to me, I can figure out projects based on the yarn I have on hand.

Like amigurumi critters. And Christmas string lights. (I made another one this week.) 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

X Marks the Side

In my continuing quest to have a Saturday with just an image, I present:

This is what I've been doing with the math classes. 

For the record, that X is the hypotenuse of this right triangle, and the trigonometric function needed to solve it is cosine. (I've been working these problems step-by-step with the kiddos. Some of them have been struggling with this, although that's to be expected as the concept is new to them.)

So: cos 43° = 36/x

Then: x = 36/cos 43°

This they can punch into their calculators to solve. (It's 49.2.)

Dangnabit! I didn't get away with no story for today, did I? Ah well...

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Worrisome Information

I got my door lock fixed! Finally.

(ICYMI: The lock on the inside of my car, driver's side door, broke one day. It's been months, but I finally found someone to fix it. As it turns out, the school where I'm doing my long-term gig has an auto shop. They took a look at the lock, recommended the part they'd need to fix it, and I ordered it. When I picked it up, I fell. So, this has been an ongoing ordeal for me. But it's finally over.)

Wednesday. I dropped off my car at the side gate of the school (rather than parking my car in the parking lot), and I went about my day as normal. At the end of the day, Mr. A, the auto shop teacher, informed me that things weren't quite all good. It took him a bit to get my car door put back together.

My car is thirty-one years old. Students were working on the fix. While the lock mechanism was fine, my door lock is showing its age. And now I can again lock my door from the inside.

But that was not what was worrisome...

Thursday. Fifth period.

The students were entering the room. Adriel passed by me. 

"I put the lock in your car." 

I really, really hope my face went blank, because my mind was whirling. 

I mean, it's okay, right? I had driven my car home. I worked the lock. The lock worked. It was okay...

Just because Adriel doesn't do math doesn't mean he's a terrible auto shop student, right? Right?!?

(I checked. He has an A in auto shop.) 

I mean, I agreed to have the students work on my car. I trust that Mr. A didn't leave them in incapable hands. He supervised. 

It's okay. It's fine. 

(I've been driving my car for days since then. The lock works. It's fine. It's fine!)

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Valuable Lesson?

Wednesday. Second period.

I was already frazzled. We had a late start due to state testing, and then they threw a fire drill on top of that. 

But we were back in the room, and I had the notes projected as I explained how to do the problems.

We're doing trigonometry, basically the intro stuff. They are just learning about sine, cosine, and tangent. So, I was taking it slow. 

I had a problem up. We were using tangent. I had them put the calculations into their calculators. And the number they got was not the number on my key.

(I know what I'm doing, but I also have a key with the problems worked out in front of me. I mostly glance at it for the answers.) 

So, I went and got a calculator and punched in the numbers myself. I got the same answer. 

I wrote it down and moved on.

As I worked the next problem, I looked back at the previous problem, and I realized what the issue was.

I did it wrong.

I erased the problem, continued working the example I was on, and got the answer in the key. Then I went back to the previous problem.

"What did I do wrong here?" I asked them.

Elliot replied that I used cosine instead of tangent (it was supposed to be tangent). Elliot is one of the students who's doing well. (Although, he was in the group of four boys who all got the same wrong answers on the test. I assume the others copied him.) 

I agreed, and I then did the problem correctly (getting the same answer as the key). Then I moved on.

I mean, I felt stupid. I've been going over how to figure out which function to use for which sides are given in the problem, and I go and get it wrong. 

But then again, mistakes happen. And I caught it before we got too far. 

I try to let them know that it's okay to make mistakes. I do it too. 

But it still rankled. 

I'll get over it. Eventually.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Uncomfortable Lesson

Friday. Second period. I was doing the trig lesson which was kind of a review. The previous period was cut short due to state testing and a fire drill, so they had never gotten a chance to practice the problems I talked about on Wednesday. So, I was going over the material again so they'd know what to do when they were working on the problems.

Because I was going over notes they already had, I was having the students give me answers. I'd ask what trig function I'd need to use for a specific problem. Then I'd have another student plug the numbers into their calculator to give me an answer.

It was going smoothly. 

Ava was over in her seat, laughing. Clearly on her phone. So, of course I called on her.

"I don't know." 

I pointed out to her the information she would need to answer my question. It was on the TV screen behind me. I moved the notes so the pertinent information was visible. I made it bigger, too.

"I can't see it."

I told her she could move.

She refused.

She basically refused to even attempt to answer the question. 

After a bit more back and forth, I got the answer I was looking for. (If I recall correctly, I was seeking "cosine". That's all.) And then I moved on.

Ava's been requesting me to check late work that she's done (because she refuses to work in class). And she's got an attitude with me. I mean, do students not realize that they catch more flies with honey? 

Sophomores... They haven't quite matured yet. Close, but not quite there.

Although, I won't be surprised if Ava ends up at the continuation high school. She's got that way about her.

I hate confrontations like this.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Terrans

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder. 

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news. 

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉

What if there are other beings similar to us (but not human) who currently live on Earth, but we're unaware that they exist? (Well, except for the occasional sightings that are dismissed by the general public.)

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter