Fall 2012

Well, we are well into the fall semester, and it's keeping me pretty busy!

I am taking three courses, Probability Theory, Discrete, and Functional Analysis.

Probability theory is offered through the statistics department.  It's a neat course and deals with stuff that I really enjoy.  It's also pretty easy, much of it we have seen before in measure theory.  The professor has a little background in mathematics, having spent two years in a math PhD program before switching to statistics in favor of the higher salaries.  But, his analysis background does not go beyond a first year real analysis sequence.  He often likes to speak of how rigorous he is being and the math folks in there just kind of look at each other.  Usually the rigor is lacking, compared to what we are used to, at least.  But he's a neat guy and is really passionate about the course.  Of 21 students in that course, five of us are from the math program.  The statistics students seem to really struggle with the material, but for us it's nice to have a class with some room to breath.

Discrete was a bad idea.  I like playing with elementary discrete concepts, and thought it would be a fun class to take.  I know it will be useful, but this class is brutal.  The professor is a great mathematician, but his lectures are difficult to follow and taking notes is almost impossible.  He also assumes an unusually strong foundation in discrete for an intro sequence.  Even some of the students who got their masters in discrete are having a tough time with it.  At least the grading system is not too tough.  I shouldn't have a problem getting a decent grade in the course.  Unfortunately, I'm stuck with it for my comprehensive exams, so I've got a lot of work to do there.

Finally, functional analysis is a blast.  Great professor and a fun subject.  It's a ton of material and we are blowing through it really fast.  I could use a few weeks to get caught up, but I'm more than happy with the class. 

Next semester I will take the second term of each of these three courses and next summer I will be taking comprehensive exams in each of these three sequences.  I have a lot of work to do.

Now for the teaching stuff.  This semester I'm teaching Math 115, Precalculus.  I started with 41 students and am down to 34.  Not a bad retention rate, and the drop date passed last week.  Apparently 115 is the least desirable course to teach, but we run so many sections that grad students will teach it once every three semesters.  I rather enjoy it.  Since it's a four credit hour course, I do not have to work in the tutoring center.  Most other courses are three credit hours and require a couple of hours a week in the tutoring center to make up for the difference. 

I've got a good group of students.  They aren't all necessarily good at math, most are exercise science (pre-physical therapy) or biology (pre-med) majors, but they are pretty involved in the course.  I have a good rapport with them, and many stop by my office hours or schedule appointments with me to go over material or discuss their concerns.  This is fairly rare.  Often students will just struggle throughout the semester and not ask for help.  An 8am class can be a bit of a drag, but I'm impressed with their attendance and attentiveness that early.  It's hard to say how the grades will shape up at the end of the semester, but I can tell that most of them are working pretty hard in the course.

All in all, it's a good semester.  I'm busy, and often stressed, but I'm having fun.  Despite this, I'm feeling terribly uninspired.  I am getting pretty tired of grad school, and I find myself thinking about what else I could be doing.  I'm not sure what will come of it.  I love the program and love living here, but it's a lot of hard work, and I really need to find some inspiration if I'm going to stick with it.  This is a pretty serious concerned.  I guess I'll see what happens when I take the Quals again in January, and we'll go from there.