Tag: math-class

It’s midday Friday at work, and three men came to class today. Two are math students, and the third is their erstwhile tutor. I feel extra intelligent for using the word “erstwhile,” but then I’m uneasy about it, wondering if it means what I think it does.

Okay, I looked up the definition of “erstwhile,” and with a bit of digging, I came to the synonym, “sometime,” which is the feeling I was aiming for. I probably should have used “sometime” instead, but I couldn’t think of it when I wrote that sentence. All that came to mind was “erstwhile.” Sigh. Way to mansplain, Mack. Sheesh.

The Erstwhile Tutor, or ET, for short, works through math problems with B and D. ET doesn’t hold great mathematical knowledge for instruction, per se, but he’s good at helping others process their work. All three are good conversationalists, for the most part, and they get along well with each other. The drawback to this is that they frequently spend more time talking and less time mathing.

ET and B are soft-spoken individuals who watch their language carefully, which is rare where I work. Penal institutions are not known for guarded tongues, and the f-bomb is employed where “valley girls” are infamous for “like.” D is from Cali-f-bomb-fornia, and he falls into the category of using that bomb in place of “like,” “um,” “uh,” or any other filler word. I get on his case about it lightheartedly, but I also want him to learn to filter it.

Today, I offered cups of tea to the men. I happened to have some paper cups, tea bags, and stirrers in my classroom, and I have a hot pot. I added fresh water to the pot, heated it, and they enjoyed the drinks. They all said it relaxed them. I’m glad to share.

As they drank, D pressed me for details about a meeting I attended this morning that affected him. All I could remember was that the result was favorable for him and that no one said anything negative about him. He kept asking for more information, insisting that I knew more, but since I hadn’t taken notes at the time, I repeated my answer to him. He asked again, and I became a little annoyed. At that point, ET said, “You need a cup o’ tea!”

We all laughed. I said, “No, thank you. I prefer coffee, and I’ve already had mine for today. I don’t like tea.” What I really meant was that I don’t like the tea available, but I kept that to myself.

A chorus of dismay said, “You don’t like tea?? What’s wrong with you?”

I laughed again.

“You need tea, Mack. It’ll calm you down!”

Again, I just laughed. “I’m calm. Thanks.” Then I told D once more that the outcome of the meeting was positive for him and that all comments about him were positive. He finally accepted my answer and moved on with his day.

That was 90 minutes ago. Since then, these men have completed about twenty minutes of math work and seventy minutes of meandering conversation. I read this to them before they left the room, and they got a kick out of it. There were some protestations of, “We did some geography!” and “That’s not all we did!” But they also acknowledged that the day had passed less productively than usual. They bid me adieu and promised to study more next week.

I just laughed and nodded. Maybe I should have a cup o’ tea.