Making Progress in Math in Retirement

I wasn’t positive when I retired (when I retired) what I would be doing. I had plans. They just weren’t firm. And math was going to be some of them, but exactly what and how?

My first chapter leader and my uncle – them, and others, but especially them – carefully explained way back when I was a new teacher that it was a mistake to “retire, full stop” – rather, it is important to retire – to something. And I took the advice to heart.

So I had plans related to hiking, and travel, and time with family. I had plans about reading more, or, really, returning to reading, as I’d lost my way. And I’m still working on all of those things.

But for math? Three ideas:

1. Teach in a program that emphasizes reasoning for mostly students of color
2. Read math with others. Math reading groups.
3. Go to school. Take math classes.

And each one has been playing out.

Teaching in a Program

I stopped working in June 2022. And I wrote to the program I wanted to work for. One day a week, maybe two, would be perfect. I wrote. They answered. I wrote. They answered. I learned that they put their emphasis on their summer programs – a math day camp for rising 7th graders, and a math overnight camp for rising 8th graders. I learned that during the year there is a Saturday program. They asked me about summer work, but I had a big trip planned. Yay! And I thought they would hire me to teach in the fall in the Saturday program, but somehow a “yes” turned into “come in and sub” turned into nothing at all. I was disappointed – good program, good content. But an alum suggested another program that might like me… and I filled out an application. Now it was January, and I really wanted the program my heart was set on – I didn’t ask about the spring – I knew they emphasized the summer – I applied for one of the summer spots. And after a multi-step process that stretched for over two months, I had work for July and August at the math day camp for rising 7th graders.

My alumni will recognize this: I taught logic problems, and problem solving. Yes, yes, we did Ghost the Bunny. I had fun. The kids had fun. The program invited back for this fall – and I am working now – Saturdays. My “classes” are like the lunchtime seminars I ran at the HS of American Studies (¼ credit, lunch time, no tests, completely voluntary), and are actually topics I had done before: Intro to Set Theory, and Abnormal Arithmetic (base 4, instead of 0, 1, 2, 3 we use O, /, ∆, ◊).

Reading Math

I wanted to find math topics I didn’t know, and read a good intro with people at a similar level. Never worked out. Agreed with Sue to read a book that matched up with her third term of calculus. We met a half a dozen times, but some progress, but Sue had to travel, we kept getting interrupted, and it stalled out.

I’m going to give this another try, after the holidays. I’m thinking about an intro to graph theory, or to knots, or mayeb Jacqueline Stedahl’s History of Mathematics.

Studying

Fall 2022 – I took off. But I knew I missed it. And that winter I wrote to Queens College. Turns out, I had matriculated when I was there on sabbatical. That meant that I just needed to update my status, and no application was needed. In the Spring I took Point Set Topology, and enjoyed the level of challenge, and the study sessions with my classmates.

Currently I’m enrolled in two classes. I enjoy “Number Systems” far more than “Functions of a Real Variable” – but I’ll talk more about that another time.

I was surprised to learn that I am not so far from earning a masters. I mean, I have completely no use for an MA in Pure Mathematics – but another nice shiny certificate? Why not.

Surprise

Looks like I may be working with student teachers in the Spring… That was indeed a surprise!