Have you ever opened up an email from 5 years ago and barely recognized yourself as the author? It's an interesting exercise. Something always shocks me. I misused a word and now suffer the embarrassment. Or worse, I come off as crazy, in a hyper-analytical sort of way.  I am so glad I finally got out of my own head.

Today I read all of the blogs I've ever posted on myspace. I fixed one grammatical error. I used to think that when using the word "myriad" it ought to be followed always by the preposition "of". I deleted the "of". That was in the post where I describe the characteristics I value in a mate. 

I also read the "recent" post called St. Patty's day math and I realized I'd better post an addendum to that one. It was discouraging to take the exam the first time and nail one section and then run out of time on the second section. In the blog I described how I was debating whether to take the credits or retake the Number Theory exam. I decided that testing out of the credits was still the route that I needed to take.

Nearly two years ago I walked into the classroom at USD with my TI-83 and I retook the CSET Number Theory exam.  I'd hired two tutors to prepare me for the exam. I brushed up on everything, took practice exams for hours on end and opened the examination packet with confidence. I used the entire allotment of 5 hours to polish the essays and review all of the multiple choice responses. When I finished I was fairly certain I had passed.

I got my scores back a few weeks later. I passed. I wish I could say that I was in the 99th percentile but they don't tell you how well you did, simply that you passed.

With my mathematics competency now proven on paper and on file with the state of California, I applied to teach math for the university where I've worked now for the past two years. I have been teaching new sections of MAT 126 every five weeks ever since. Teaching an online math class has been one of my favorite professional experiences because I am helping the adults that I teach realize their dream of earning a degree. Many of them are fearful that their weakness with math will be the one obstacle that they cannot overcome. With math sometimes we all need a little support in order to pass.

KD