I really liked this. Let’s face it. We all Google search everyday looking for information on one thing or another. I use my bookmarks daily. I feel like I can find a lot of new ideas on the blogs I found. For instance, who would have thought I could find something relavent and interesting using a 100’s chart for middle schoolers? I taught factors last week. Using a 100’s chart activity from Let’s Play Math to introduce the activity and expand upon it is something I will use.
I am also excited about finding some very thoughtful rhetoric on Kitchen Table Math by Ted Nutting. The frustration he feels in Seattle, Washington, rings true here as well. I teach 6th grade. This is the grade level with the largest new student influx. The vast majority of these students are coming from our local public schools. I am now starting to feel the No Student Left Behind fallout. It is unfortunate that our teachers are so pressured by the standardized tests this law requires students to pass in order to move on to the next grade level. The math skills on these tests are the math skills my new 6th graders come into class knowing.
Then comes the question “Where Does Cheating Begin?” posted by Chris on Betchablog. Wow! He uses the example of a doctor using a computer to look up the name of a medication. We would want him to use the computer, right? Then comes the real-life, teaching connection…… Would we let that same doctor use the computer to look the correct answer up in our classrooms? NO WAY!!!!! We require instant recall of factual information. Chris makes an excellent point when he states, “If basic recall of facts is all that matters, a tool like Google can make you the smartest person in the room.” What about problem solving? Isn’t that what we want from our students? From our leaders? From our world? We ban the tools that can make our students the smartest people in the room. Should we rethink this?
