Math is one of my favorite things to teach now. It is exploration and storytelling, finding patterns and making connections. Today we made models of different groups of sea turtles in order to determine which fraction of the groups of sea turtles were more affected by pollution. Then we played math games. My stomach turns when I hear, "I don't get this new math." It is the same math, same properties. We just want mathematicians to be able to discover.
I wish I had the opportunity to discover. Maybe Dr Bird would have discovered I wasn't so irritating.
This made me laugh: I soon found myself out of accelerated math.
ReplyDeleteI had so many dry math teachers in school. . .it took me a emphasis in math ed program to realize I liked math, and liked teaching it!
I agree with you on the "new math" comments!
I had some really negative experiences with math teachers in school too and I think it made me a stronger math teacher- I get where students may be confused and have various strategies to try. I love the "new" way math is taught and wish I had the opportunities these kids have!
ReplyDeleteOur district has been struggling with the exploration of math. And this includes students, teachers, and parents. I love how you tied in pollution with the math lesson. Great teaching!
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