Sunday Music: Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen

Album Title: Born in the U.S.A.

Why I Bought It: One of the relatively few music videos I'd actually seen (before obtaining DSL and acceptable access to YouTube) was "Dancing in the Dark". So....

What I Like (Fun): "Dancing in the Dark". Just a rockin' good time. Of course, Bruce dancing with Courtney Cox always flashes through my mind as I listen.

What I Like (Determined): "No Surrender". Bleak, like much of The Boss's work, but with that stoic refusal to bend the knee.

What I Like (Rueful): "Glory Days". A sad song, all things considered; one part of it seems like the flip side of "No Surrender" - the singer's lady friend who laughs when she feels like crying.

Overall: I like this album. It doesn't contain the best of his urban blues, though the title track and "My Hometown" are top-notch; "Downtown Train" is heartbreaking; "Bobby Jean", "Cover Me", "Working on the Highway" - this was the first Springsteen album I bought, and it's a good one. (The second was The Rising; I managed to make it through one song before breaking down and turning it off. Later purchases have been more bearable.)

Week One

So, the first week of the semester has passed.

I was - and am - uneasy about this semester, because of the two courses I'm teaching. The first is "Introduction to Algebraic Structures", a junior-level course on abstract algebra - specifically, group theory. This course is notoriously difficult for our students; it calls for a kind and level of abstraction they have not previously encountered, and many of them react very negatively. (Course evaluations from this class tend to be at best mediocre and at worst miserable.) I last taught the course quite a few years ago - enough that I don't remember how many - and the precise content has been changed, so I'm having to feel my way, to a certain extent. The new textbook moves very slowly, at least at the beginning, and I think that may be wise. I'm having a little difficulty holding myself to that speed, but I am taking it slower than usual. It helps that most of the students have had me before, so building rapport is not a major problem, but I'm still concerned.

The other is "Engineering Mathematics", which I've never taught. The person who had taught it regularly abruptly decided to retire at the end of summer, and the assistant chair, desperately seeking someone to take it on, asked me. I said I wasn't enthusiastic, but I'd give it a try.... The course covers a hodgepodge of mathematical skills that the School of Engineering has told us its students need, mostly from linear algebra and complex analysis. Theory is not a major concern, obviously. I have to dial it way back to suit this audience. I think it may be working; the first evidence will come in Tuesday, when my grader returns the first quiz to me. Still, I'm not yet sure of my footing. (This course has an even worse reputation, as far as evaluations go; when I mentioned to another colleague that I'd be teaching it, she was very sympathetic....)

At this point? I'm cautiously optimistic, but I think I'll be on edge until I see the evaluations, early next semester.

Surprise!

It is raining pretty hard outside.

I do not think Gracie realized this when she went outside just now.

She is now very wet, and very excited. I shall have to trap her in the bathroom.