Math Tip!

A Letter to Students Everywhere

Dear students,

Have you ever heard the expression "first impressions are lasting impressions"?  If not, then allow me to introduce you to the incredibly accurate concept that the first impression you make on a person will remain with him or her, no matter what interactions you have in the future.  For example, if I catch you cheating on the first test you ever take in my presence, I will forever think of you as a cheater.  You may change your ways and become a student of the utmost integrity, and in the back of my mind I'll still forever wonder if you are cheating again.  So, please, think about the person you want to be, and make sure that you act accordingly.  And please, please, please don't cheat.  It won't get you anywhere in life, and it certainly won't get you anywhere in my classroom.

Love,
Miss Math

To err is human.

Two common misunderstandings for some important ideas, and understandings that reflect the overcoming of them (from "Understanding by Design 2nd Edition," page 54-55):

1.  When you multiply two numbers, the answer is bigger.  Multiplication is not repeated addition.  Fractions when multiplied yield a smaller answer, and when divided, a larger answer.  How can that be?  Students often see fractions and decimals as separate number systems; learning to see them as alternative means of representing the "same" qualities is the understanding.

2.  Negative and imaginary numbers are unreal.  Negative and imaginary numbers are no less and no more real than ordinary numbers.  They exist to provide the symmetry and continuity needed for essential arithmetic and algebraic laws.*

* I recently had a discussion with a friend about imaginary numbers, and she expressed her confusion about the purpose of numbers that aren't real.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Stay tuned for more info on the importance and purpose of imaginary numbers!

Museum of Mathematics to open in Manhattan next year!

MUSIC NUMBER A museum piece will show the interplay of math and music.

          A recent article in the New York Times, One Math Museum, Many Variables, announced that a new Museum of Mathematics, nicknamed MoMath, will be opening at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan next year!

SHAPES A Museum of Mathematics exhibit will explain tiling patterns on different shapes.

          According to creator Glen Whitney, the museum’s mission is to shape cultural attitudes and dispel the bad rap that most people give math. “It’s the only field you can go to a cocktail party and talk to people with pride about how lousy you are,” Mr. Whitney said.  Under his vision, MoMath will be one small way to bolster mathematics education in the United States by serving as an intellectual catalyst and teaching resource.

RIDES A traveling exhibit has a tricycle with square wheels.

          “There are all sorts of myths about mathematics out there,” Mr. Whitney says — math is hard, math is boring, math is for boys, math doesn’t matter in real life. “All these are cultural myths that we want to blow apart.” 

A Math Lover's Lament

I was tutoring a student in Algebra at the library the other day (BAD IDEA, just for the record.  If you are going to tutor at a library, make sure you check it out ahead of time so that you know whether or not there are quiet areas in which to work) and there was a woman working with a much younger child at a table nearby.  While my tutee was working quietly on a problem I had given her, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation going on at the next table.  Apparently, the young boy was really enjoying working on math and didn't want to move on to reading.  Now, I completely understand that the tutor had a duty to make sure they accomplished some reading during their time together, but I do NOT agree with the method she used to transition.  She told the young boy, "We have to do some reading now so we don't get a headache from doing all this math."

EXCUSE ME???  What kind of message is that sending to that young and very impressionable boy?  Answer:  Math gives you a headache, math is bad, etc.  Poor math, it's no wonder it gets such a bad rep.  From a very young age, students' minds are filled with false impressions of the subject that I think is so wonderful.  Yes, the tutor needed to transition to reading, but she could have done so in a way that encouraged the child's interest in math.  How about, "I'm so glad that you are enjoying math so much, but reading is fun and important too.  So, why don't we spend some time reading, and then if we have time we can work on some more math at the end?"  Or, "Well, we could spend the rest of our time doing math today as long as we spend our next meeting together reading.  Or we could share our time both days reading and doing math.  What would you like to do?"  Then write a little contract and have the student sign it so that he is held accountable for the choice he has made.  There are so many other options besides, "Math will give you a headache."

Imagine what a difference it would make if everyone, no matter their personal feelings toward math, spoke positively of the subject until students could develop their own opinion about the subject.  Imagine how many more students would end up pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  We need more Americans going into these fields, and first impressions are lasting impressions.  Lets make sure that children's first impressions are positive.

Doodling in Math: Sick Number Games

Imaginary Number

http://nfccomic.com/index.php?comic=205