what are you afraid of?

A few weeks ago I asked my students two questions. 

What are you proud of? 

What are you working on?

Here are their responses, side by side.

What are you proud of?	What are you working on?
Math test grade	Being a better blocker
Being outgoing	Being more focused and studious
Able to connect with people	Patience
Fantasy football team	Not stressing about college
Cooking	Procrastination
Snow skiing	Math skills
Newspaper	Positive outlook
Work ethic	Crew skills
Getting more work done	Getting even more work done
Improved focus	Lacrosse
Musical ability	Health
Books read	Tolerance
Sight reading	Not stressing out
Writing	Study habits
Bought own car	Ice hockey
Optimism	Commitment to one thing

Grammar aside, I can tell you which question my students found most difficult.  All of them had something they were working on, but they weren't allowed to tell me until they first listed something they were proud of. 

It was almost painful to watch.  They were embarrassed.  Some of them gave me nothing important, unwilling to open themselves up to anything worthy of scrutiny.  Others were ready to share, confident in the safety of the environment, sure of themselves.

This blog is read by students, friends, alums, teachers, strangers.  It's your turn. 

What are you proud of?  What are you working on? 

Come on, tell me.  What are you afraid of? 

generation gap

Before class I was telling my students a story about how you never know how you will feel about the people you know in high school.  I am 30 years out of high school and two friends from back in the day, each having raised their own families and then divorced, have recently reconnected and kindled a romance after all these years.  It has been pretty amazing to watch, a testament to the fact that life is long, we often get second chances, and love is a powerful and wonderful thing.

One student's response:  "I wonder if I'll be alive in 30 years."

anyone home?

In our school, the students in grades 8-12 all have their own laptops.  They carry them around with them and use them as appropriate in every class.  This means that when they have a question, they can ask it via email at any moment during the day.

I love that they can do this and will reply as soon as I am able.  Sometimes I am teaching, and can't answer right away.  Other times I respond in seconds because I am online working anyway. 

What strikes me is that although they think to send the email, they rarely think to check to see if I answered.  Every day a student will stand in my doorway and casually ask, did you get my email?

My response is always the same, "Yes.  Did you get my response?"

I have never been more connected, more accessible to my students...  and still we are disconnected. 

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fair warning: this post includes a picture of a cricket

My fabulous colleague Jon Gray teaches 6th grade science and AP Environmental science.  Although it would be fun to comment on what has to be a day of multiple personalities, that's not what I wanted to talk about.

I stepped out of my building to find him being trailed by a gaggle of 6th grade goslings, his six foot frame towering over them.  Jonathan loves to encourage students and adults alike to see the world, to explore the wonders in our beautiful Florida habitat.  He stopped to show me what they had found, a mole cricket. 

I know that insects are large and fierce in our temperate zone, but I still like to look at them and wonder at their beauty and complexity.  I'm also the resident cockroach squasher, so there are limits to my interest.  According to our 6th graders, stereotypes about my curiosity remain.  As I marveled at the cricket's amazing earth moving claws and sturdy jumper legs, the student cradling it in her sweatshirt asked me, "Are you a science teacher?"

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this key doesn't fit

Some people think Monday mornings are tough.  I actually think Tuesdays are tougher, and Wednesdays...  whew...

Today I stood in front of my classroom door repeatedly clicking the unlock button on my car keys. 

Just for the record, it didn't work.

do you mu?

Some days everything goes right. Last Tuesday was the Mu Alpha Theta initiation ceremony.  Mu Alpha Theta is a mathematical honor society for high achieving high school and junior college math students.  In our chapter, the focus is on service.  All of our members act as tutors in our community, assisting their peers as needed.  They also participate in math competitions and plan and execute a school-wide celebration of Pi Day on March 14.  Each week we hope to select a mathlete that has performed well in a competition, served exceptionally as a tutor, or was nominated by a teacher for excellent work in class. 

Today's initiation ceremony was planned and executed by the officers of the club and included a celebration of our 36 new members.  We all learned a small part of the history of mathematics and afterward enjoyed a buffet lunch donated and served by parents of the students in our society.  The food was delicious, the ceremony well-attended, and the club thriving with 80 members. 

I encourage you to find out more about Mu Alpha Theta and consider a chapter at your school.  It is a great way to foster interest and excellence in service and mathematics.  You can learn more about Mu Alpha Theta here. 

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play ball

Friday's FCIS Keynote speaker was Harvard Physics Professor Eric Mazur.  His talk, entitled "Confessions of a Converted Lecturer" was in line with the current thinking on the flipped classroom.  His thoughts are that education is not simply a transfer of information, but that students must actually assimilate this information in order to both retain and use it effectively.  The flipped classroom is one idea that allows students to transfer the information at home by watching lectures, but then assimilate it in the classroom through problem solving, debate, discussion, and a wide variety of other learning tools. 

In the talk he outlined a 6 - step process by which teachers might effectively get students to assimilate information.  He suggested that teachers

1.  Ask students a question
2.  Give them time to think
3.  Take a poll of student answers
4.  Allow the students to discuss their answers
5.  Repoll the students
6.  Explain the solution or have a student explain

This is not the first time I have heard about this technique.  At another conference, the speaker used it with the question below.  It is a favorite in my calculus classes and in my summer training sessions for calculus teachers.  It stumps my students quite a bit, and many teachers as well, but then we discuss it and you can literally see lightbulb go on.  We cannot follow Mazur's model very easily here, but the method and the question are worthy of discussion. 

Think about a ball you have thrown into the air and consider the ball at the exact moment that it reaches it's greatest height.  At that exact moment, which of the following statements is true?   

A.  The velocity and the acceleration are the same.
B.  The velocity is greater than the acceleration.
C.  The acceleration is greater than the velocity.
D.  There is not enough information to know the answer. 

What do you think?

• Can you explain your answer in a mathematical way?
• Can you explain your answer so that a middle school student can understand?
• What do you think of this model for the classroom?
• Have you used it and if so, could you share your questions?

I will post the answer at the end of the day if the discussion does not reveal it.

You can learn more about Eric Mazur and his work here. 

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