Blog, mk II

Some time ago, I started up a livejournal account, planning to use it as a space in which to write about and reflect on my experience as a novice teacher. That sort of fell through, as I started using that space more for writing about my hobbies, and then (because I felt bad about not using it for its supposed purpose) stopped writing altogether.

So, seperate topics, seperate blogs. Easy, right?


To lay a foundation on this one, here's the usual background on my noviceness:

• I graduated from engineering school 11 years ago (I went to engineering school because, well, that's what bright kids from the Detroit area do).
  
• Failing to find remotely satisfactory work in engineering, I went off and made computers work, instead. I then took a detour for a couple of years, trying to get into hard science (I spent three years in grad school, working on an ecology Ph.D., before I decided that I had no business being there). So, I went back into making computers work.
• Finally, two years ago, I spent three months in an accelarated "alternative teaching certification" program, earning my certification as a math teacher (I'm also certified in chemistry, and more recently in biology).

I spent my first two years as a math teacher, in one of Chicago's lowest-scoring public schools, mostly teaching students who were identified as below the 45th percentile on state tests for math. The "at need" students in an "at need" population. This year, I'm starting at a different Chicago public school, in a much less depressed neighborhood (I can, for example, buy a cup of coffee within walking distance of the new school, which was not true before; In fact, there's lots of things in walking distance, from storefront theatres to used record stores to big box retailers). This year, I'll be teaching calculus to kids who are expressly underprepared for it, though we will meet twice a day, to help get them up to speed. I'll also be teaching three classes of sophomores-- not just the usual sophomore geometry, but a more mixed set of skills and concepts, taught more through applications than the typical American math curriculum.

And that's where the blog title comes in... I believe that part of what makes teaching math so hard in this city (and this country, by all accounts) is that we have a culture that accepts innumeracy, a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable for persons of all walks of life, however high their station, to openly admit to being really grossly inept at any sort of mathematical problem solving. I believe that the reason for this is the remarkably useless and poorly conceived math curriculum that we've been using for the past 100 years.

The question gets asked, "Is math really useful?" And many people find themselves trapped, wanting the answer to be "Yes, of course," but having a hard time justifying it. So, I'm pretty excited to have this opportunity to explore what happens when we throw out the crappy curriculum, throw out the focus on academic skills and routines, and delve instead into a math curriculum that is focused on making itself relevant and interesting to the student. The reviews I've had from others are mixed. Guess I'll see for myself.