Finals Week

It's hard not to get caught up in the nostalgia of the season, not to mention planning hubs 40th b-day party and a monster road trip for Christmas.  Made a calendar of my dogs last night.  The momentum of the season and all the cookies and candy are supposed to give me enough energy to finish up all the gifts, bake all the cakes, sing all the songs, grade all the labs, tally all the points, drive all the miles, well it will all be worth it, and it should be no surprise that we will get there, we've done it before, right Mel?

Melle (in 2004)

This semester has been most epic.  It's just like any kind of training, you have got to keep taking yourself to another level.  When I searched for the word on my mind I got: HigherEdJobs, Higher education, and the following song: Taio Cruz - Higher ft. Kylie Minogue - YouTube (2010).  The songs that I had in my mind were:
Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder (1973)
I wanna take you Higher - Sly and the Family Stone (1969)
Both of which are much more amazing than the modern chart topper.

But why is it called higher education?  Higher than what?  Why do we elevate ourselves?  How?  We solve relevant problems and encourage others to join us in the endeavor.  Why not integrate problem-based learning earlier in the curriculum?  Wonder if there are any out there for Chem 15.  Wouldn't some kind of environmental analysis for Earth Day be a great activity?  I'm also needing time to plan for the invitation of Southern California's undergraduate researchers in Chemistry and Biochemistry to Keck for a symposium.  Will there be prizes awarded?  If so, what should they be?  Will we have a keynote speaker for the students to interact with throughout the day?  Whew!  We have to make an announcement soon.