Marshmallow Math

I was pushing truck for OTC today which is the pharmacy area. I was pushing cases of hand sanitizer because we got the “good stuff” in today (purell) and it goes quick even with the the product limit put in place. People were literally taking it from my hand before I could put it on the shelf, but that’s not the point.

As I was putting the goods on the shelf, this woman comes up to the stand and she’s very excited. “Yes! You guys have it! How many can I take, is there a limit?” I say yes, 3 per person per transaction per day. She nods, accepting, and grabs her three. “Sorry, that was weird. I’m a teacher, I’m trying to stock up. I promise I’m not a hoarder.” I smile and nod and say it’s fine. She starts to walk away but stops and turns back.

“Do you have any Clorox wipes in stock by any chance?”

Heart sinking, I shake my head and say no, sorry, and we don’t know for sure when we’ll get more. (We get them maybe once every two weeks, but the product limit for those is one per person per transaction per day and they usually sell out within hours of going on the shelf.)

Her face dropped and she kinda looked down at her hand sanitizer and said “that’s okay, with the product limit I wouldn’t be able to get enough before school starts anyway. It’s only 4 weeks away.” She laughed a little but I could hear the frustration in her voice and see the tension in her face. She sounded defeated. The most I could offer her was one of the small bottles of pure bleach. I honestly wanted to cry. For a second there I thought she would. I had no clue what to say as she turned and walked away.

This is what teachers are dealing with. Even in years when there’s not a pandemic they have to rely on donations from parents or their own money to be able to buy hand sanitizer, wipes, tissues, etc. for their classrooms. Now they’re being forced to return to school with no extra funding, no extra supplies, no support from the government; they’re STILL expected to provide for and protect these kids *on their own.* All while, now, risking their own lives and their own health because the government doesn’t want to admit that they fucked up handling this pandemic.

Every time I hear someone say “kids don’t die from it, it’ll be fine,” I realize that person does not give a flying fuck about teachers. Sure, *maybe* the kids will be fine. But the teachers are not children. They are adults with underlying conditions, adults living with elderly family, adults who are over 50 and are at more risk. Adults with at risk family at home. Adults who are at risk themselves. But they are STILL trying their hardest to protect your children in the classroom.

It’s honestly fucked up that we live in a country where police departments get millions or even billions of dollars in state funding, yet teachers have to buy their own cleaning supplies and doctors have to reuse PPE in hospitals. Police get tens of thousands of dollars worth of riot armor to wear and terrorize peaceful protesters, while the Navajo Nation get sent body bags instead of medical supplies.

Use your accommodations.

You are NOT taking advantage of people by using accommodations. You are NOT placing yourself ahead and giving yourself an unfair advantage. You are NOT taking the "easy way out".

You are getting accommodations because you are at a DISADVANTAGE. Your accommodations make you equal.

You deserve them.

okay, so here in california precautionary measures against COVID-19 have become increasingly intense. most schools have closed and are preparing to make the transition to “distance learning” aka online classes. this is a big change for many of us – but don’t panic!

welcome to surviving online classes 101!

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✐ self discipline

this is more of a warning than a tip. working from home means you will have to exercise a lot more self discipline. it can be a little bit boring or lonely at times. you cannot count on motivation from others (professors, classmates, friends, etc.), so you will have to learn some self discipline. 

✐ create your own classroom

a good way to make the transition is to try and mimic the classroom setting as closely as possible. something that might be helpful is to set up a space designated for work. try to avoid the temptation to work in your bed or on the couch. that trains your brain to be alert in those places and makes it harder to relax/fall asleep. at least during online lectures, try and eliminate distractions that wouldn’t be present in a regular classroom (like tv or netflix playing in the background, or having your phone out)

✐ dress for success!

dress in the way that makes you feel most productive. if you’re one of those people who usually rolls into class wearing sweats and still kills it, good for you! if you’re one of those people who needs to put on a full face of makeup to feel alive and ready for the day, do that! even at home!! i personally never wear makeup but if i try to be productive in pjs… disaster. i’ve also found that cute workout gear makes me feel badass while still being comfy.

✐ create a schedule

now more than ever you need to figure out how to manage your time. you can use a planner, bujo, google calendar, the forest app, whatever. just make sure you keep track of things like

due dates and TIMES

exam dates

lecture times

hours spent studying

meals (pls eat 3 if possible)

water intake

sleep schedule

✐ pack your bag like you usually would

i know this probably sounds so dumb, but when you’re done working clean up after yourself. pack everything up like you would at school, to sort of signal to your brain that academic time is over for now. and then unpack and set up when you’re ready to get to work again. this is just another way to trick your brain into that school mindset while you’re stuck at home.

✐ don’t overwork yourself

break up your studying into chunks. being cooped up all day can make us feel like we’re wasting time, but be sure to schedule breaks and reward yourself after a solid study session. i’m a big fan of the pomodoro method, and it can be customized really easily to allow for more or less study/rest time. 

✐ maintain a healthy sleep schedule

now is the time to develop that healthy sleep schedule we all dream about. staring at a computer all day is exhausting and hard on the eyes and brain, so make sure to give them enough rest and time to recover each night. also, consider investing in glasses that block blue light, even if you don’t usually use glasses. this will keep our eyes young lol. 

✐ communicate with your teachers and classmates

most of us are making this transition to online learning together. any time you have questions, email your professor. reach out to your classmates at the beginning and exchange emails/phone numbers/social media so you can build a support system. if something goes wrong, screenshot it immediately and reach out to your professor. technology isn’t perfect, and mistakes can happen, just communicate them.

✐ turn things in early

this is my biggest tip. when you are relying on online submissions for assignments and digital lectures, you always want to allow extra time to fix any errors you might encounter. your professor will also be much more willing to help you fix a problem two days before a deadline rather than two minutes before a deadline. eliminate that uncertainty by playing it safe with online submissions. 

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I personally teach Algebra II and Geometry, but I’m happy to help with any math through calculus.

I personally teach Algebra II and Geometry, but I’m happy to help with any math through calculus.

For any two distinct real numbers, we can always find a rational number strictly between them, i.e. that rational number must be able to be expressed as a terminating decimal or a repeating decimal.  To be clear, that rational number is strictly between the two values; it is not allowed to be equal to either.