Optimization
Ahhh! Optimization! The wonderful world of gathering a plethora of information, variables, realities, and patterns and using it to determine the best possible decision. In Algebra, students dip their toes in the beginnings of optimization with linear equations, but do they know that? Nope. Neither do they know the power they could yield. The reality
Setting Math Goals
Every January we are inundated with the need to set goals. Our intentions are good. We setup a spot to sit by the wood stove, complete with tea and chocolate. Maybe you start some inspiring instrumental music like Vivaldi or Dvorak. All of the variables are set. If you are able to successfully complete the
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Beauty from Boredom
When students are faced with memorizing math facts the struggle is usually boredom. I don’t know if flashcards are more boring for the student or the parent. Death by flashcards is slow and painful. I admit to using flashcards for less than 15 minutes of my parenting career. I realize that my parenting years are
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Moral Work
How do we get our kids to develop a good work ethic when we don’t live on a farm? This is a question have repeatedly asked myself for years. Honestly I bring it up a lot in the hopes that my dream for a small farm will get pushed into reality, but I digress. I
Mathematical Reasoning with Life again
If I’m focused on justifying what I’m learning by the necessity of my need to use it, then I’ll naturally seek to learn the things that I need in order to do the things that I want. We may argue that we do not seek to only teach our children that which they seem to
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Mathematical Reasoning with Life
When I first started teaching mathematics, the elephant in the room was always the mantra, ‘when am I ever going to use this in life?’ Now that we’ve been exploring the language of mathematics together for years, I don’t hear this question very much at all. However, the worldview or hidden assumption behind this question
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Lust of the Eyes
I get buyer’s remorse, but in reverse. I pat myself on the back for a job well done of leaving a store without buying any unnecessary items, and then halfway home, I get that familiar pang of regret that I have left something behind that, seemingly, would have fulfilled me. This month, it was black
Common Topics : Authority
Authority: When we are stuck we look beyond ourselves. Authority is the common topic that forces us to see our limitations and seek help from those who have come before. “The greater intellect one has, the more originality one finds in men. Ordinary persons find no difference between men.” Blaise Pascal. When faced with a
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Common Topics : Relationship
Relationship : Look to the future! At least that is how I imagine this particular common topic. We learn in writing class that relationship is asking questions like “what comes before” and “what comes after”, which at first glance does not seem to be about relationship at all. A relationship etymologically speaking is a connection.
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Common Topics: Circumstance
Circumstance : Learning to look around us and contemplate and understand our surroundings is something that comes with maturity. While a toddler may be completely nonchalant by the road traffic, it isn’t because he’s brave, but because he is unaware. Naivete is not bravery. As our toddler starts to pay attention to the world outside
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