Just around the corner...
The past few days have been somewhat stressful for me, as I scrambled trying to find a co-instructor for Number Theory. Remember, when Carlos offered me a position teaching THEO Session 1, he noted that both slots were open, and asked if I knew someone I'd like to work with. And Carlos's wording strongly suggested that I might have to find someone outside of CTY, which was frightening. For one thing, Number Theory is so tied in to the history and tradition of CTY Lancaster that it is well-nigh impossible for some outsider to just walk in and do the course justice. Nevertheless, I called my friend Faith, a classmate at Duke who has a BS in math and an MA in education, and who has promised me that she will try working at CTY once she has a free summer. She did not have a free summer this year. I really didn't have any other outside resources, so I had to figure out what veteran CTY staffers were available.
After eliminating all the former THEO instructors (which is what got me the job in the first place), my top two choices seemed to be Neil and Andy, two math TAs who have been at Lancaster for the past two or three years. Neil has done 5 sessions of Cryptology, while Andy (which stands for Amanda, not Andrew, lest you be confused by the pronouns later on) has done two sessions of Math Sequence and one of Crypto. They both know their math, they both know their way around a CTY classroom, and I know I'd have lots of fun working with either of them. If I had to pick between the two, I'd probably choose Andy, but since Neil has seniority, it would be rude not to give him consideration. On Sunday, I sent e-mails to both of them, asking if they would like to do THEO with me. Neil replied Monday morning, and explained that Crypto was currently scheduled to have two new instructors (after three years, they still stuck Neil with a TA position, despite glowing reviews from his instructor -- Baltimore has been known to make some shameful placement decisions (I would know!)) and he and Andy were both worried that the new instructors would not honor the pre-existing curriculum, so they (Neil and Andy) had just put in a proposal to Carlos for the two of them to co-instruct one section of Crypto. If that went through, neither of them would be available to do THEO.
I began to panic. When the site director sent an email out to all Lancaster staff members, I scanned the To: list for addresses I recognized as math folks, and asked them if they were available. One had a conference in Canada during first session. Another was teaching a course he didn't want to give up. It seemed pretty bleak. I sent a worried email to Sideshow and Quimby, two veteran THEO instructors, asking for "the wisdom of the elders." They told me not to panic. They suggested a couple of other leads for me to follow. They assured me that, no matter who I wound up with as co-instructor, one or both of them would come up during orientation to help the two of us learn the ropes. It also turns out that they did a little behind-the-scenes arm-twisting on my behalf.
On Wednesday, I got a phone call from Ari, another former THEO instructor. Although he was working at CTY both sessions, he had refused to do Number Theory unless he worked with Sideshow -- he wasn't fully comfortable with all the material, and felt intimidated by the other instructors. But Quimby called him up the previous night and convinced him to consider working with me. Moreover, when Ari called Baltimore to say he might be willing to do THEO after all, they said that they were trying to choose between him and Andy as my co-instructor. I guess the Crypto co-instructor bid fell through. Now I had two fairly solid options to choose form. Although Ari has done Number Theory before, it was only for one session, and given his stated reservations, I said that Andy would be my preferred choice, though I ultimately wouldn't mind working with either. He said he would pass my preference on to Baltimore, (Oddly enough, I never heard from Baltimore the entire time -- I asked Carlos for a list of available staff members as soon as I got his initial offer, but he never responded. I don't think that Carlos likes me, so I avoid dealing with him, but you'd think he would certainly try to keep me in the loop when trying to find me a co-instructor) and to Andy as well (she hadn't responded to my email, and it turned out that the address I had for her didn't work anymore). Although Quimby's 11th-hour persuasion seemed to have been superfluous, I never would have known that Andy was still an option if Ari had not been prodded to give me a call.
So, assuming that Baltimore honors my preference (again, I still haven't heard from them), I'll be co-instructing with Andy. I am relieved to have (mostly) gotten that mess taken care of, and happy at the outcome. We have a strong rapport, which is always a good thing for a collaborative effort like Number Theory. Last year we didn't see much of each other, as she only worked at Lancaster during the one session I got sent away to Bethlehem, but we were rather close in 2002. After study hall we'd always go jogging together, and complain about Math Sequence. I'd bitch about my TA, and she'd bitch about her instructor, and we'd both bitch about how boring the course was. We just might wind up complaining about each other this year, but THEO could never be boring.
-TT
After eliminating all the former THEO instructors (which is what got me the job in the first place), my top two choices seemed to be Neil and Andy, two math TAs who have been at Lancaster for the past two or three years. Neil has done 5 sessions of Cryptology, while Andy (which stands for Amanda, not Andrew, lest you be confused by the pronouns later on) has done two sessions of Math Sequence and one of Crypto. They both know their math, they both know their way around a CTY classroom, and I know I'd have lots of fun working with either of them. If I had to pick between the two, I'd probably choose Andy, but since Neil has seniority, it would be rude not to give him consideration. On Sunday, I sent e-mails to both of them, asking if they would like to do THEO with me. Neil replied Monday morning, and explained that Crypto was currently scheduled to have two new instructors (after three years, they still stuck Neil with a TA position, despite glowing reviews from his instructor -- Baltimore has been known to make some shameful placement decisions (I would know!)) and he and Andy were both worried that the new instructors would not honor the pre-existing curriculum, so they (Neil and Andy) had just put in a proposal to Carlos for the two of them to co-instruct one section of Crypto. If that went through, neither of them would be available to do THEO.
I began to panic. When the site director sent an email out to all Lancaster staff members, I scanned the To: list for addresses I recognized as math folks, and asked them if they were available. One had a conference in Canada during first session. Another was teaching a course he didn't want to give up. It seemed pretty bleak. I sent a worried email to Sideshow and Quimby, two veteran THEO instructors, asking for "the wisdom of the elders." They told me not to panic. They suggested a couple of other leads for me to follow. They assured me that, no matter who I wound up with as co-instructor, one or both of them would come up during orientation to help the two of us learn the ropes. It also turns out that they did a little behind-the-scenes arm-twisting on my behalf.
On Wednesday, I got a phone call from Ari, another former THEO instructor. Although he was working at CTY both sessions, he had refused to do Number Theory unless he worked with Sideshow -- he wasn't fully comfortable with all the material, and felt intimidated by the other instructors. But Quimby called him up the previous night and convinced him to consider working with me. Moreover, when Ari called Baltimore to say he might be willing to do THEO after all, they said that they were trying to choose between him and Andy as my co-instructor. I guess the Crypto co-instructor bid fell through. Now I had two fairly solid options to choose form. Although Ari has done Number Theory before, it was only for one session, and given his stated reservations, I said that Andy would be my preferred choice, though I ultimately wouldn't mind working with either. He said he would pass my preference on to Baltimore, (Oddly enough, I never heard from Baltimore the entire time -- I asked Carlos for a list of available staff members as soon as I got his initial offer, but he never responded. I don't think that Carlos likes me, so I avoid dealing with him, but you'd think he would certainly try to keep me in the loop when trying to find me a co-instructor) and to Andy as well (she hadn't responded to my email, and it turned out that the address I had for her didn't work anymore). Although Quimby's 11th-hour persuasion seemed to have been superfluous, I never would have known that Andy was still an option if Ari had not been prodded to give me a call.
So, assuming that Baltimore honors my preference (again, I still haven't heard from them), I'll be co-instructing with Andy. I am relieved to have (mostly) gotten that mess taken care of, and happy at the outcome. We have a strong rapport, which is always a good thing for a collaborative effort like Number Theory. Last year we didn't see much of each other, as she only worked at Lancaster during the one session I got sent away to Bethlehem, but we were rather close in 2002. After study hall we'd always go jogging together, and complain about Math Sequence. I'd bitch about my TA, and she'd bitch about her instructor, and we'd both bitch about how boring the course was. We just might wind up complaining about each other this year, but THEO could never be boring.
-TT