Today I guest lectured in a Math class of all things. Are you chuckling with compassion? I comforted myself and eased my nerves by saying, “Whatever weakness I possess in math, I more than make up for in verbs.”
I aimed to help math students write more clearly and effectively as they blog about various measurable environmental issues–whether water, meat consumption, fracking, or any interesting and timely environmental matter. I’m inviting them to showcase their equations and results in a way that engages a real audience and motivates them to change.
What a fun, unusual day! Picture me up there alongside the math professors. Picture all the incomprehensible math formulas swirling about (they weren’t actually there; I saw them in my mind, and I didn’t understand a single thing). Picture my song and dance of verbs, semicolons, and sentence patterns.
Patterns? Hey, this moment synchronized writing and numbers after all. Writing contains a numeric component! Oh, beautiful harmony!
Yes, I brought a handout with 400 of my favorite verbs. I counted them, probably incorrectly.
I wish to collaborate even more with my mathematics professor friends. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I even took a photo to commemorate the day I lectured to mathematics students and survived.
And I was invited back next semester. Sweet victory!
