The Road not Taken

“Digital leadership requires connectedness as an essential component to cultivate innovative practices and lead sustainable change.” from Digital Leadership, Eric Sheninger @E_Sheninger.

That IS my new challenge: connectedness. I’ll be in a new environment, I’ll have new (& more) students than I’ve had in five years. Not with the content, though I can always improve on that. I have yet to know what they are like, but I already know they yearn for stability and creativity. I have done minimal to share my ideas, but now have a fresh slate to record them and use this platform as my reflection.

I’ll also have new books, new classroom managemnt system, and new way of requesting time off.

I realize I cannot replace the exiting teacher, nor can I imitate her. I do know by perusing through the old materials she kept that we share the same philosophies about math, regardless of technology. I also know I’m not the sharpest tool in the math department, and I’m okay with that, as long as I can surround myself with experts, hence connectedness.

By the way, Eric Sheninger is one of those people I stayed connected to. Sara Van Der Werf is another. Twitter is an excellent way to reach others. #mtbos is the tag math teachers should follow. LinkdIn another I prefer, more than Facebook. I’m looking forward to develop PD discussions at the myMCTM discussion forum that just developed. I’ve been asked to be a forum moderator, but I’d like to get settled in and get to know the students at my new place of work. Very exciting!

Even though I’m a newbie in their mind, I hope to soon create a pattern of inspiration throughout my classes. Why use Robert Frost’s line in the title? To me it represents the satisfaction of pursuing a path others won’t take...so that “it made all the difference.”

Til I chalk again,
Mr. Shel

Comments

Times of Transition

I used to DESIRE to dig into research and to experiment and try a hypothesis in my classroom. Since COVID I have felt complacent and unsupported to try anything. This is the danger of not just the pandemic, but ANY major situation. Then I also became involved with MCTM and worked with people whose desire was to make math more connected again. There were several feeling the same way as I did, and for once that gave some comfort. I've discovered through personal study and investment in my thinking habits, (as mentioned in previous posts) that I am an Architect. Not by trade, but by mindful construction of the "Big Picture" and commanding the tools, resources, and assets I am connected to make it happen. Not to brag, far from it, for Architects also are behind the scenes people, and some have the opposite of superiority complex; that is to say, an inferiority complex. This is a dangerous feeling to have, especially if one is in a competitive environment. If you

Hope for the next standards....

Though the picture represents a different reason for my mug smile (taken in May 2022), it makes me feel the same way to try to continue to hope for the future of math standards. Currently we are working underneath the 2007 Minnesota Math Standards, and version III of the new standards have been out for comment by the public. Before, there were general ideas what was supposed to be presented to Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, upper standards (advanced data and statistics), but yet did not account for the College Now or other preparatory math many schools have implemented to be competitive. Here's a case example of hope for improvement. Currently I teach Algebra 1 to the eighth graders in our district. The curriculum we have is very rigorous (that is to say, the book focuses on rational exponents), and gives students little practice with integer exponents to build their confidence. This gap, paired with a low numeracy and low fraction exposure from their previous school exper

New Stress-old story

Photo by Kristine Lewis via Flickr This year marks my first in long time of having a struggle class be THE struggle class. Normally I like to do an activity with them I got from NCTM in the first month called “A Matter of Survival,” and the students usually play it out prettty well. This class could not focus for more than 2 minutes! It took me at least 20 minutes to tally their data. (October). Now they have been struggling to focus enough to understand the concepts...it almost borderlines dyscalculia. Dyscalculia, according to Wikipedia, is " is difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, and learning facts in mathematics. It is generally seen as a specific developmental disorder." Wikipedia reference They've been a distraction to themselves for so long, they missed capstone learning moments to solidify their number theory from the 6th grade before coming to the high

Blackboard Notes

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