I heard someone the other day talking about how we don't really encounter "Math" as its taught in the "real world". Baloney. That's what I say. Totally baloney. Maybe that individual doesn't, but why limit the child to whatever that person's life is? I use math, as it was taught to me, all the time, as an English teacher, as a mother, as a checking account holder, as a homeowner, no less, maybe more......
Here are some examples.......grading papers, calculating weighted grades, disputing excuses (a student wrote on her quiz her work schedule instead of the answer.....I noted out the "not working" hours available, subtracted sleep and eat and drive time (based on her home address and address of work/ legal speed limit), factored in the average reading speed to the amount of words in the assigned essay and calculated that she could have read the assigned reading 152 times in the time she had available. The calculation ended with the note that her quiz score was 0....and I was docking an extra 10 points for annoying me into doing complicated math. None of my students ever did that to me again! :)....) So that was a teaching moment and amused me at the same time....yes, I said it annoyed me, but really I did it to satisfy my need for sarcasm.
Anyway, we use math to garden, to buy paint, to buy food, cook food, do taxes, calculate pension, raises, and other monetary issues. We use math to fill our autos with fuel, to fill our yard machines with oil/fuel mixtures. All of this needed to be slowly added to our skill set before we were presented with the real life math.
Maybe their point was that the math they were "taught" was useless. Maybe.
Wednesday 26 September 2007
Math Thoughts, Revisited.....
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
Tuesday 25 September 2007
More Random Fun!
A while back I posted a comment on an invitation to a random meme. Ron got back to me right away, but I was stuck on his questions. That's right, writer's block. So, like any obstacle is overcome, I sat down and worked it out over several days.
What is the age of your current home? built in 1886...so 131 years old.
What style is it? Where do I even begin? It is a mix, so "eclectic"; it has a seven gabeled roof (Queen Anne), corbels (Italianate style), Eastlake sticking and windows- including the stain glass patterns (Eastlake is not an architectural style but has been merged with the term "Stick Victorian", Italianate doors, and the list goes on. That era was all about picking things that don't go together and making them work- at all odds with the practical sometimes.
How does the word vortex apply to your blog? It is from Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide. I like the little parable. Sometimes I am so self absorbed that I cannot see the big picture and my family gets sucked in. My blog is like the opposite of that machine: I get to focus on all things from my perspective. Still a vortex.
As an English professor do/did you teach primarily grammar/function, writing or literature? Yes, all of those, if the students are paying attention. As it is I must grade multitudes of papers and sometimes teach former high school students to love learning via the beauty of the comma.
Pick a post from the main page of a blog from your reading list that you would like everyone to (re)read: Child's Play has an interesting post up about linear and non linear thinking. I'm still processing it.
What is the age of your current home? built in 1886...so 131 years old.
What style is it? Where do I even begin? It is a mix, so "eclectic"; it has a seven gabeled roof (Queen Anne), corbels (Italianate style), Eastlake sticking and windows- including the stain glass patterns (Eastlake is not an architectural style but has been merged with the term "Stick Victorian", Italianate doors, and the list goes on. That era was all about picking things that don't go together and making them work- at all odds with the practical sometimes.
How does the word vortex apply to your blog? It is from Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide. I like the little parable. Sometimes I am so self absorbed that I cannot see the big picture and my family gets sucked in. My blog is like the opposite of that machine: I get to focus on all things from my perspective. Still a vortex.
As an English professor do/did you teach primarily grammar/function, writing or literature? Yes, all of those, if the students are paying attention. As it is I must grade multitudes of papers and sometimes teach former high school students to love learning via the beauty of the comma.
Pick a post from the main page of a blog from your reading list that you would like everyone to (re)read: Child's Play has an interesting post up about linear and non linear thinking. I'm still processing it.
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
Monday 24 September 2007
Um...Yikes?
Here is verbatim what the NEA has written, which can be found on their pdf file,
but you will have to visit Happy and Free to get the link. I couldn't get it to post right.
Yike. I'm paying lots of attention to federal mandates and the organizations that lobby for what becomes legislation for homeschoolers. According to the above, I could be exempt because I can easily get "licenced" since I teach college.
I have a problem with the general idea of this for heaps of reasons. I think it is foolish to think that licensed=good teacher, just as having a drivers licenced does not make you a good driver and a Bachelor's degree does not instantly qualify you for any job. 2) What happened to all of our choices? Are they going to invade private schools and force them to use mandated curriculum too? What's next? TV? Radio? Books? Maybe they will get to decide how you parent your baby and Baby Einstein will be required for x amount of hours per child each day and crib and formula use will be mandated and not optional. Maybe people with x medical problem will be required to take x pharmaceutical as mandated by the state. No, how we choose to educate our children is our choice. I understand the need for "oversight" to prevent severe cases of abuse but this invasion is a totally different level for very different reasons.
but you will have to visit Happy and Free to get the link. I couldn't get it to post right.
B-75. Home Schooling (their pp 36, pp 45 of the pdf file)The above resolution is a little too 1984 for me.
The National Education Association believes that homeschooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to assure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.
The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)
Yike. I'm paying lots of attention to federal mandates and the organizations that lobby for what becomes legislation for homeschoolers. According to the above, I could be exempt because I can easily get "licenced" since I teach college.
I have a problem with the general idea of this for heaps of reasons. I think it is foolish to think that licensed=good teacher, just as having a drivers licenced does not make you a good driver and a Bachelor's degree does not instantly qualify you for any job. 2) What happened to all of our choices? Are they going to invade private schools and force them to use mandated curriculum too? What's next? TV? Radio? Books? Maybe they will get to decide how you parent your baby and Baby Einstein will be required for x amount of hours per child each day and crib and formula use will be mandated and not optional. Maybe people with x medical problem will be required to take x pharmaceutical as mandated by the state. No, how we choose to educate our children is our choice. I understand the need for "oversight" to prevent severe cases of abuse but this invasion is a totally different level for very different reasons.
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
My Center of Gravity
I woke up from nightmares last night and the anxiety has not yet subsided. I need to find inner balance and physical balance because we are ice skating this afternoon!
Why am I feeling so off? I am not sure. I didn't eat well over the weekend. I didn't sleep well either. I am very stressed out over the house and all that it entails. I am feeling a creative block lately as all of my creative energy has been tied up in the house for the last 9 years. Though I did remember that the phone call I forgot to make (the nagging feeling that I was forgetting something all morning) was to the vet for Kitty's check up and possible spay/neuter. Easy enough to remedy.
Also, planning a three year old's birthday party is not an easy feat. It should be easy. Park Day + Cake + Games = one happy tot. Right? No. Late October the weather may be too cold or rainy and park day is during the day and all family have day jobs except me. We have vetoed the house as a location. It is not even up for discussion. This makes me a little sad. Zoos, Science Centers, Chuck E. Cheeses....all too expensive. Not asking MIL. Not fair to her. GAH!!!!!!!!!! Why is it so freaking hard? Every birthday we've been to 'cept one has been at the family's house.
Any ideas?
Why am I feeling so off? I am not sure. I didn't eat well over the weekend. I didn't sleep well either. I am very stressed out over the house and all that it entails. I am feeling a creative block lately as all of my creative energy has been tied up in the house for the last 9 years. Though I did remember that the phone call I forgot to make (the nagging feeling that I was forgetting something all morning) was to the vet for Kitty's check up and possible spay/neuter. Easy enough to remedy.
Also, planning a three year old's birthday party is not an easy feat. It should be easy. Park Day + Cake + Games = one happy tot. Right? No. Late October the weather may be too cold or rainy and park day is during the day and all family have day jobs except me. We have vetoed the house as a location. It is not even up for discussion. This makes me a little sad. Zoos, Science Centers, Chuck E. Cheeses....all too expensive. Not asking MIL. Not fair to her. GAH!!!!!!!!!! Why is it so freaking hard? Every birthday we've been to 'cept one has been at the family's house.
Any ideas?
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
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