Thanks for the support, guys.
When we laid out the possibilities for how I can make use of my extra time now that we're down to two teens at home (and taking mostly college courses their last years of high school), it was a fairly open family discussion, because my decision would impact the whole family in one way or another.
Neither my wife or teens liked the idea of increasing my scientific consulting work, because we don't really need the extra money, and an increase in paid consulting means an increase in travel for me at times when it is convenient for the client and not for the family. Neither my wife or teens was keen on the idea of getting back into paid teaching, because part time teaching pays so poorly, I was unlikely to find a job teaching with appropriate academic rigor, and the scheduling demands of an academic job would most likely conflict with our academic schedule and the needs of our teenagers.
Everyone liked the idea of using the time to mentor science projects. I've been mentoring a few outside projects every year, and in most cases the whole family gets to help out with the brainstorming and review process of most projects. It is a lot of fun and really gets the creative juices flowing. Over the years, we have worked with some great people on some great projects. It can be a lot of work, but the scheduling and travel needs can usually be adjusted to accommodate the needs of my family. We've already started the process with some new students, and there is a wave of excitement when we discuss great new ideas some students have had.
I can understand why it's not something everyone wants to be a part of, but I don't understand the scoffing and mocking. Just think about it as a MathGeek version of coaching an academic team rather than a sporting team. If I were putting together a rifle team and broadcast a wide invitation for students to join, would this be mocked or scoffed at? Hey, maybe I'm onto something ...
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