Upon reading some of the old lessons that I had done near the beginning of the year, it is amazing to me how much I have already changed. Mostly, I glance at my old materials and recoil in horror. I'm coming to the realization now that I have a fundamentally flawed understanding of math education.
I think it's because I enjoy math for the purpose of math. I like rigor, I like notation, I like working through a problem where I really have to think and I gain satisfaction from finding solutions.
I'm not sure students are the same.
I don't think that students can appreciate math without a context. For me the context is mathematics, but they don't see it that way. Anything without a context is irrelevant and they haven't gained the maturity to slog through stuff that they find totally boring. I found, looking back, that I was often punishing students for talking, not doing work, being off-task etc. when really...
...I was boring.
It's hard to stay on track and focused when you're not interested in the material. I find that a hard pill to swallow. Why can't they just listen and learn because they're supposed to? Why don't they care? Duh, because they're teenagers and their lives are preoccupied with other things. I am the classroom management problem when I'm boring. I cause the problems, it's not them; it's me. So ultimately the problem/solution lies with me.
So there's the problem: context. Meaningful context. Not "Jeremy walks into the store and buys 46 watermelons while the cashier stares at him dumbfounded because who the hell buys 46 watermelons".
Working on 30-2 materials for the Set Theory unit. Trying to make it meaningful. Struggling, but the struggle makes it worth it.
Resolution: Make all lessons <30 minutes. Less me talking, more them doing.
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