Catfish Are Jumpin'...

[stoutfellow]

This is a little odd.

About ten years ago, the university adopted a "capstone" requirement: graduating seniors in every department had to complete some sort of project displaying their mastery of the discipline. In my department, this takes the form of the Senior Assignment, a written paper on some mathematical topic which must then be presented orally to a committee of faculty. During a student's final year, s/he takes a project-prep class in which the outlines of the paper are worked out; during the following semester, s/he writes and presents the paper.

Now, until last year no student had ever approached me about supervising a Senior Assignment. Last year, I supervised my first, which I've mentioned before. This semester, I'm supervising two: one on the English mathematician George Peacock, and one on baseball statistics. In the past week, three more students - two of them currently in the project-prep class - have approached me. One wants to study the great David Hilbert; I haven't yet had a chance to discuss ideas with the other two. I have reason to believe that there are at least two more in the offing.

Ten years without a nibble, followed by six to eight in less than a year? It may be a statistical anomaly; enrollment in our department has gone up somewhat lately. But I'm still a little surprised. (And pleased, yes.)

[No, I'm not entirely sure what I mean by the title. For some reason, the old Creedence Doobie Brothers song "Black Water" is running through my head.]

Comments

[filkferengi]

It's rather simple, really. Being on the list is fun, but meeting and hanging out with listies at various cons the last year or so has awakened hitherto-unsuspected social graces and allowed your students to enjoy you as much as we do.

So, enjoy yourself [& don't forget to pimp your literary ride--i.e., gently nudge towards Lois & the list when and as appropriate]. :)

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

You *should* be pleased; that's a nice feather in your cap - and much more important as a measure of student respect than the "I hate taking finals and that's about all I remember while I'm writing the evaluation of this guy" evals (g), yes?

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Very cool!!

I hope you have enough time for it!!

You're cool, what's more to ask? ;-p

[bibliotrope.livejournal.com]

Umm... that song is by the Doobie Brothers. (And I highly recommend that people listen to it with headphones: great stereo separation on that cut!)

Congratulations on your two students. The baseball stats one especially sounds like fun.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

that song is by the Doobie Brothers

Yes, of course. In mitigation, I plead that there are stylistic similarities between the two groups. Probably "Green River" was lurking in the back of my mind, confusing things.

Congratulations on your two students. The baseball stats one especially sounds like fun.

He'd probably be better off working with, y'know, an actual statistician, but they always have more SA students than they know what to do with. (One of them has agreed to "look over my shoulder" on this one, though.)