happened this week.
I toddled into work on Monday afternoon and was sitting in my office when I well-kent face popped a head through my office window, "hi there!"
It was Graham, Graham who, for the last three years, I've shared tutorials/exams, after tutorial/exam drinks and many a maths talk with. He was wearing a suit.
"What...?"
"I'm doing the post-gradute certificate of education", he explained.
"Is...?"
"Yes, Alan is my tutor". We both shared a big smile.
I'm not sure about Graham but my smilewas a smile way down in the heart of my soul.
For so many reasons: Graham was starting his teacher training in a school where I might be of help to him, I get to talk to Graham, I'll see Alan again and that this road, so often hard, of ours may works wonders.
Graham was stacking shelves in the Co-op when we first met. [Although, to be fair, I could see that Graham was special the first time I met him (after all he had an MA in philosophy).] I was a janny, I will remain a janny but as we shared a fag in the fag-smoking place I said what I'd got from this OU process thus...
[Context: what we get from maths; us/pupils/teachers.]
"I was reading some game stuff the other day; it was hard and I didn't get it all, but at one point it said that the way to look at things was using open sets from topology, I understood and read past. It wasn't until later that I realized what a gobsmaking thing that was—five years ago I wouldn't have had a clue what was going on, three years ago I might have known a bit about sets, now, although I can see the edges of the argument, I'm still not sure about the thrust of it. But now I know that if I want to understand that post I just have to work a bit harder..."
Of course I didn't put it quite like that but the essence is true: when it comes to understanding stuff the last eight years have massively increased my tool-set. I won't be great, I won't even be good, but I'm at the edge of the table. And it has been worth every single second of every single minute of effort to get me to here!
Yes, there will be hard, hard times but in the end we get so much out of this. Remember this the next time that you are fifteen minutes away from a TMA deadline without working code...
The road is enough. [and will be sufficient, typical mathos addition!]
Quite like the new blogs by the way.