tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92102992011-09-01T04:57:16.575-07:00Thoughts on life, sometimes mathematical.Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-47032548889317979902011-09-01T04:54:00.003-07:002011-09-01T04:57:16.592-07:00

It's been a decade since that horrible day. I was reminded recently that the young people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan were in 3rd and 4th grade when it happened. And I had to stop... and ponder... and try not to cry. I was teaching 3rd grade back then. I wonder how many of my students answered the call and are there now? ... It's probably best that I don't know that little piece of data...

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-44797516882585035732008-07-04T18:29:00.002-07:002008-07-04T18:45:24.269-07:00

Why are people so incredibly narrow-minded?! I recently spoke with a coworker about the impending election - and he said (get this - I can hardly believe it as I type it!), "I don't think I could ever support anyone as president who didn't wear a flag pin."WTF?I, completely dumbfounded, responded, "But... you don't wear one!"He didn't quite know how to respond to that.Pat Bagley, political

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-61597840699661309642008-05-05T15:08:00.002-07:002008-05-05T15:16:35.142-07:00

You would think, that with the risk of redeployment, I would dislike seeing him in his military garb. You would think it would bring back terrible memories of difficult times.But it doesn't. Even knowing he could go back to Iraq, and even with the irrational fear of abandonment that overtakes me when he has to spend an entire weekend away, it just... doesn't.I love my man in uniform.Or perhaps...

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-44560533235039898482008-04-23T16:28:00.002-07:002008-04-23T16:40:44.878-07:00

Okay, the title's a play on the initials U.S. It's... well... frustrating...Should a population be blessed simply because of their politically-induced location? Are the people more righteous? More compassionate? More pure in heart? Did the founders of said location really have an "in" with the Big Guy?I've been in God's Country: anywhere that nature overwhelms me with its beauty. But it's kind of

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-55426941292852097342008-04-07T18:11:00.003-07:002008-04-07T18:18:28.256-07:00

Our nation, as a whole, is so arrogant. Our nation seems to think we are making progress in Iraq, that the reason Iraqis want McCain to be our next president is because he'd be so good at it. No... it's that he'd be so good for them:The Baghdadis ... know that the only thing standing in the way of another sectarian conflagration is the U.S. military. This may explain why every Iraqi who offers me

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-68772864830336468402008-03-22T14:43:00.003-07:002008-03-22T14:47:18.743-07:00

We will probably not know the unintended consequences of our actions for many, many years. Look how long it took for civil rights to take hold after the Civil War.Still, I have to ask... how much longer will this continue?

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-11436135085198818112008-02-05T17:36:00.000-07:002008-02-05T17:53:04.582-07:00

Yes, yes, to exercise one of rights and obligations of being an American citizen.Yet living in mo-ville, and finding I am affiliated with a party I no longer align with, there would be, truly, no point. My vote - I could almost swallowing clicking on McCain's name - would fall short. There is only one Republican candidate that will win here.I don't vote for good ole boys and I don't vote for

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-37910902970544194322008-02-04T19:42:00.000-07:002008-02-05T17:53:42.790-07:00

I have a lot of regrets in my life. Many, I'll never talk about. But some, I need to air:Not being the one to carry on the family Christmas cookie tradition. With the food allergies in my home, it seems pointless.Never sending Christmas cards. I always feel guilty that I don't, but that doesn't change my behavior.Acquiescing to others' viewpoints, simply to avoid conflict. If I think it's right,

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1135451159169399112005-12-24T12:04:00.000-07:002005-12-24T12:06:19.656-07:00

Yes - Tormato - Onward by Chris Squire, c. 1978Contained in everything I doThere's a love, I feel for youProclaimed in everything I writeYou're the lightBurning, brightlyOnward through the nightOnward through the nightOnward through the night of my lifeDisplayed in all the things I seeThere's a love you show to mePortrayed in all the things you sayYou're the dayLeading the wayOnward through the

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1134362327463921152005-12-11T21:34:00.000-07:002005-12-11T21:39:01.503-07:00

Math 4910b, Calculus II Final Paper, Fall 2005My greatest challenge while approaching this paper has been to clarify, in writing, thoughts that are not necessarily clear to me yet. Having taken Linear Algebra during the summer semester gave me an advantage over my Dixie classmate. Many of the concepts presented in class were a “second look” for me (vectors and differential equations come

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1128993648956019352005-10-10T18:20:00.000-07:002005-10-10T18:22:54.466-07:00

Don't get me wrong: I support my husband being where he is with the National Guard, doing what he does. He was ordered to a war zone, and so he went. The military is still voluntary. He didn't have to sign up; he chose to. Just because the active duty military is spread so thinly now that they can't do their job without the Reservists and Guardsmen is beside the point.So he's gone. We all know

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1126926233889670112005-09-16T19:54:00.000-07:002005-09-16T20:03:53.893-07:00

Stupid Army. Three more weeks of time at home before they left, and none of this pain would be with me.But it is not to be. I am a control freak... (probably part of the reason I love teaching...) and not having any control over these circumstances totally bites.Enough details. Keeping busy has helped. Knowing people care about me has helped beyond any description I could write. And knowing my

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1126475168364219652005-09-11T14:40:00.000-07:002005-09-11T14:46:08.370-07:00

Have you ever been so seriously disappointed in something that you weren't sure you would ever recover?You'd think, after nearly 40 years on this planet, I would have a stinking clue how to handle disappointment. And most of the time, I can just let it go. "Ah well, better luck next time" or "Dang, that's a bummer! Glad to get it over with."But this time? It's as if my heart has been pecked at by

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1123475122807799822005-08-07T20:59:00.000-07:002005-08-07T21:25:22.826-07:00

Alrighty, ladies and gents,It's been an odd summer. My beloved husband came home for about 10 days before leaving again, this time to Iraq. Not cool. But it was wonderful to have him home again, if only for a little while. Eleven more months and counting.So I'm taking some college math courses (I know, I know, a glutton for punishment!); I'll try to post about them later.And then there's the yoga

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1116122688410280092005-05-14T19:02:00.000-07:002005-08-07T21:28:17.286-07:00

Okay, so Mother's Day, since I've had children, has never been very big on my list of favorite holidays. The day-in, day-out wear and tear on my psyche was never repaired with one "ooh! look! let's pretend this day is special!" Since I have given up expecting anything special or wonderful to occur on the 2nd Sunday in May, the day has been much better.One year, my daughter wrote me a wonderful

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1113716758680719512005-04-16T21:45:00.000-07:002005-08-07T21:28:56.880-07:00

Wow. Prom Night for MontyDaughter and boyfriend. Before the big dance, we all went to a joint concert by two of the Army's bands. What talent! What unity! The performance we attended was their 7th in 7 days. I'm certain they gave their all for us. I can't begin to comprehend how much energy that must take.I remember seeing a military band when I was little. It's the first time I remember getting

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1110865325906752922005-03-14T22:29:00.000-07:002005-03-14T22:42:05.906-07:00

Today is Pi Day! The irrational number pi is an approximation of the ratio of the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter.Back in Babylonian times, pi was approximated to be 22/7. Not bad, for 3000+ years ago! But they didn't have decimal numbers; that came along much later.Biblical references to pi was the ratio of 3. Even today members of the Solomon Society attempt to persuade others

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1109474976563888312005-02-26T19:45:00.000-07:002005-02-26T20:44:19.863-07:00

What a great job I have teaching! As much as it frustrates me sometimes (kids, paperwork, etc), I wouldn't change my job for any exponential amount of gold.Recently I was teaching the pre-Algebra classes about linear equations. I explained how the things we'd been doing recently were all parts of a puzzle, and this joined up some of those pieces. I told them it was an Algebra concept, but we'd be

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1109379637033379472005-02-25T17:47:00.000-07:002005-02-25T18:00:37.036-07:00

I wonder, at times, whether or not students "get" why a teacher does what a teacher does.Me? I try to do activities that help cement a student's understanding of a concept. Today we made scatter plots. We learned about them earlier in the week, and I wanted to apply the knowledge to something "real" in their lives. We had one plot with height on the x-axis and arm span on the y-axis. The other

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1109039161397185872005-02-21T19:07:00.000-07:002005-02-21T19:28:13.926-07:00

Why is it, when a teacher does something unexpected, students aren't sure how to respond? Take for instance, my pre-Algebra classes. Regularly, when we're reviewing for a chapter test, I've assigned them to do the "practice test" in the back of their textbooks.But, as a teacher who tries to improve herself, I came to the realization that there's no point in practicing problems if you can't check

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1107137221578868192005-01-30T18:52:00.000-07:002005-01-30T19:09:39.360-07:00

In my Pre-Algebra classes, I teach the students that balance is important in solving equations. "What you do to one side..." I intone, and in unison the students respond with me, "...do to the other!" So we practice. And I remind. And they learn it, hopefully inside and out by the time they reach Elementary Algebra. So here I sit, trying to regain balance in my own life. The love of my life is

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1105829472444753622005-01-15T15:20:00.000-07:002005-01-15T15:51:12.443-07:00

I've avoided posting lately. Why post sad stuff? No, I don't want my sweetheart to leave for 18 months. But life happens. So I was chatting online with one of my students. She said she felt bad for me and hoped for better days ahead. My response: The days are what they are - and we make them good by appreciating them for what they are, not by hoping for better times. If you do that, you MISS the

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1101432215190683332004-11-25T18:05:00.000-07:002004-11-25T18:23:35.190-07:00

So teaching middle schoolers math is an interesting experience. Once, when I was teaching the concept of rates and ratios, I encountered a student with a literal mental block. We'd just determined the price per egg if a dozen cost a certain price. Then I set forth, "If a six pack of cola costs $1.89, how much is it for one can?" On the board I wrote: 6-pack/1.89 and 1 can/X One rather vocal

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210299.post-1101182102823026502004-11-22T20:38:00.000-07:002004-11-22T20:56:13.980-07:00

Math has always been one of my favorite subjects. Now that I'm a math teacher, my job is my hobby. I get paid to be a math geek? Cool! As I was finishing my bachelor's degree, with minors in both math and psychology, I pondered the dissonance of the two subjects. Math is precise and results driven. The end result is what's important. Psychology, on the other side, is more intuitive and process

Mrs. Montyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783193170766570207noreply@blogger.com3