In our department meeting today, we had a guest speaker from the Wellness Department* who talked with us about building closer connections with students, an atmosphere of trust, and greater engagement by our students. All good things, certainly. Part of… Read More ›
Teaching & Learning
“When am I ever going to use this?” (a new response to an old question)
Bored math students often ask, “When am I ever going to use this stuff?” Even math students who are not bored often articulate the same question, albeit in a more polite phrasing, such as “Can you give us an example… Read More ›
More thoughts on grading
What are grades supposed to represent? What is the appropriate connection between assessments (whether formative or summative) and grades? I’ve recently been reading some interesting discussions about these questions in several math teachers’ blogs (including those of Matt Townsley, Karl Fisch,… Read More ›
Sixteenth in the state
No, Weston teachers do not have the highest salaries in the state. According to today’s Boston Globe, Weston ranks only 16th in the state in average teacher salaries! At $73,338, we can be compared to a high of $79,444 (Old… Read More ›
Professional Learning Communities
Apparently this is becoming more and more common in Massachusetts. Our students got a four-day weekend in January, but the faculty only had a three-day weekend, in order to schedule a day of professional development. Not that that’s a bad… Read More ›
Open enrollment
In recent days I’ve talked with several colleagues and a couple of students concerning overrides into honors-level math classes. All high schools have to face the question of what to do when a student and his or her math teacher… Read More ›
How many applications????
I’ve just sent off my final college recommendations — for a couple of schools that have surprisingly late deadlines of January 10 or January 15. My spreadsheet shows that the students who asked me to write recommendations for them this… Read More ›
Mathematician’s Lament
“Mental acuity of any kind comes from solving problems yourself, not from being told how to solve them.” So says Paul Lockhart, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s great having cooperative students who will correctly follow directions in solving problems… Read More ›
Requiring algebra in eighth grade
Ten years ago, the highly respected mathematician Lynn Arthur Steen wrote an article entitled, “Algebra for All in Eighth Grade: What’s the Rush?” Well, now we know what the rush is…or do we? Steen sets up the issue with a… Read More ›
Traumatized for life
Some of us can barely remember anything from third grade, but last night at a restaurant in Dorchester I met someone my age who was truly traumatized for life by a single experience way back in third grade. We’ll call… Read More ›
Defining a trapezoid
This is the cue for my students to roll their eyes… Yesterday I got into a heated discussion with another math teacher about an important issue: how to define a trapezoid. He was arguing in favor of the position that… Read More ›
Paper clip update
Paper clips are up to 25 now: Getting closer to donuts.
Are you smarter than a fifth-grader?
“Do you know about the Xerox Alto and Xerox Star computers from back in the ’70s?” asked one of my fifth-graders in The Saturday Course. “Yes,” I replied, “but I’ve never before met a fifth-grader who knows about them!” This… Read More ›
An interview in Wildcat Tracks
Junior Lauren Avery, one of the editors of Weston High School’s student newspaper, Wildcat Tracks, asked if she could interview me. Of course I said yes, and the result was a half-page article that focused on my transition from linguistics… Read More ›
Struggle
At this week’s Math Department meeting, we spent the first 15 minutes or so discussing what we do to help “struggling students” succeed in our courses — particularly what resources we provide. Something was bothering me about the whole discussion,… Read More ›
Before and after
A major topic of high-school math is the study of transformations. My colleague, Jim McLaughlin, wants you to know that his desk has somehow undergone a miraculous transformation: Before After
How can you lose a quiz while you're taking it?
It doesn’t seem possible for a student to lose his quiz while taking it. If it’s possible at all, it should surely be a once-in-a-lifetime event. But no! For the second time in my years at Weston, this unlikely event… Read More ›
What's wrong with a B+?
Three different freshmen approached me at various times today with concerns about whether they should stay in Honors Geometry or drop down to College Prep. That’s OK. But for two of them the reason was that their current average is… Read More ›
Class blogs
Check out the blogs for all of my classes! We rotate each day that a class meets, so that students take turns posting class notes. So far this has led to a number of positive effects: Students who miss class… Read More ›
Paper clips: current count
Currently up to 18 paper clips…
Learning Strategies 