July 2011 Blog Posts
I was watching a mathemagic show the other day (that's a magic show in which the magician does multiplications in his head faster than you can do them on the calculator). Right at the end, the performer revealed to the audience the trick he used to square 57683 (i.e., to multiply 57683 by itself). It's not a trick in the magical sense of the word, it's a formula for calculating (x+y) to the power of 2, which we all learned in high school, except he figured a way to make it useful beyond the final exam.
So many of us learn...
In the last ten years, computers have become the answer to the complex issue of lifting education standards. Students dropping out of school? Give them computers in the classroom. Numeracy outcomes deteriorating? Here is a website where you can do sums and compete with people in other countries. Too few teachers? No problem: replace them with computers that work 24/7 and never get sick.
This year, a new sub-trend has emerged, with iPads as the latest panacea. Apparently, all you need to keep students motivated and interested in schoolwork is to get iPads.
iPads are cool, no argument there. The education programs available impress...
To a teacher in the first year on the job, few things are as scary as speaking to The Parents. Some will tell you their child is not stimulated enough in class. Some will say the work is too hard. There should be less homework. More homework. Some want to know whether Johnny behaves at school, others whether he's made friends, surprisingly few ask about the actual learning.
It all depends on the type of parents you're dealing with. Here are some useful definitions to help you make sense of it all:
Helicopter Parents are over-involved...
(Today's guest post is by Tracy Lockley, an Australian writer, school teacher and mum. As she teachers her toddler daughter to cook, Tracy's words remind us of the value of love, family traditions, working as a team and learning by doing... or, if you're too small to do, then at least learning by watching.)
This afternoon, Mckenzie and I made a steamed pudding together. It was the perfect day for it – cold, grey, rainy with wind howling in off the Southern Ocean – the perfect time for a mother and daughter to engage in the time-honoured transfer of knowledge that isn’t...