As we march through another school year, three articles caught my attention and insist that we examine this focus in education. Clarity of purpose becomes paramount as we explore the latest thinking on high-stakes testing.
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This has become my mantra. These words are desperately needed in the current political and educational climate.
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Every instructional decision I make is based on that sincere fundamental belief - I believe in you - regardless of age, ability, skin color, or socio-economic status.
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In my New Year’s newsletter from 2016, I suggested that the word for the year be PURPOSE. Here it is another New Year, and I like this idea of finding our educational focus ONE WORD … what might your ONE WORD for 2018 be?
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As a society, we readily understand why we need to learn how to read. We have a good grasp on how print impacts the ability to function as a productive adult.
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This quote shared by Annie Fretter at the NCTM conference this April resonates loudly with me. Some might think this is what we do in a history class, not math class, however, Ehrenworth discusses how this is the exact purpose of ALL disciplines. As educators, it is our social responsibility to disrupt inequity and promote deep and purposeful learning.
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All too often, students are faced with rules and procedures that are to be followed. They are shown exactly how to solve a problem, how to think, and how to proceed before they are then asked to practice what they were just shown.
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Happy October - one of my favorite times of year in education. By now, classroom teachers have routines in place and have gotten to know their students. Schools start to have that familiar hum of learning as we roll through the crisp fall days.
Read MoreAt the National Education Summit in November, Governor Bush tells us, "Education is the great equalizer. A math problem doesn’t care whether you were born into privilege or poverty.
Read MoreI was thrilled when I recently came across the term generative learning, which describes much of what I believe about education. I like the very sound of the word and all of the implications that go with it.
Read MoreI remember distinctly when I decided to pursue more education. I was working as a fifth grade teacher, teaching 3 sections of math each day - and loving it. I was fortunate to have an uncle as a mentor who had taught the youth of Providence and advocated for higher standards of mathematics for all.
Read MoreAs I presented a visual model of a computation as an illustration of the new 2011 frameworks, there sat Erica. "This does not make sense to me. Why are we using this model?" I acknowledge such questions and answer with a question of my own, "Good questions. Just because the standard says to use a particular visual model, why is this better for students? And, how will you know it is better?" and thus our journey begins.
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