We’d like to welcome the first of our guest bloggers to the K5 Learning Blog. Joanne is a math teacher and busy mom and she’ll be sharing her years of teaching experience, expertise and well-informed opinions. We’re thrilled to have you on board, Joanne.
There is an old story of Archimedes which tells of his death. Archimedes, you may recall, famously ran naked through the streets after discovering that the density of gold could help the king decide the purity of his crown. It seems he was so enamored with mathematical principles that, when asked by a soldier to give directions to consul Marcellus’ tent, Archimedes demanded that the soldier wait until he finished solving the mathematical puzzle on which he was working. The soldier became enraged and killed Archimedes on the spot.
I’ve never had Archimedes' dedication to math, in fact I have had my share of anxiety over the subject. I am a math teacher, and many of my students are surprised that I occasionally have to work a problem through five or six times to make sure that I didn’t take a wrong turn somewhere. I have talked to numerous moms in playgroups and on the playground who happily relearn French verbs, but the thought of a parabolic equation finds them reaching for the liquor cabinet. The kids overhear the tone of dread in their parent’s voice and take on the dread of algebra themselves. So what’s a parent to do?
I like to think that my openness about successfully overcoming challenges in math helps students persevere through their own challenges. With my five year olds, I like to remark aloud when I have the opportunity to use math. We use estimation (yes, that’s math) to judge whether we have enough time to make that right hand turn in front of the truck (successfully, I hope), when we have only five dollars in couch money to buy a snack, or when we’re judging how long “five more minutes until home-time” is at the playground. Start talking about the math you have mastered, like figuring out how much to tip the barrister, and you’ll start seeing it everywhere. Last year at Halloween, we had a ‘guess the number of jellybeans in the jar’ contest and it was amazing to see the very young children teaching themselves new strategies. We also think of silly math puzzles like ‘How many peas would fit in this room?’ or ‘How fast do you think Luke Skywalker was traveling?’. It’s often not important to get the right answer (or fill your room with peas), but to ask them about their thinking, contribute your own ideas, then ask them to help you out. Get questions wrong on purpose. They will see that it’s OK, and their 20 year old self will be able to spot the error when the door to door salesman tries to sell them an energy plan.
Joanne Arcand is trying to juggle her role as a math teacher with her other life as mom of twin boys. She lives in Oakville, Ontario.
