Maybe because the summer was so meteorologically pleasant.  Maybe because the windows to the lovely new classroom [which I am privileged to teach in] only open 6 inches at the bottom per NYC Department of Education building code.  Maybe because the 75-year-old school building went from having a handful of people in it to having 4,000.  Maybe because I’d rather be on a lake in Vermont any time.

The start of school felt particularly painful to me this year for any one of the above reasons.  Yesterday at the conclusion of what will probably be the easiest day this term (the periods were only 25 minutes long), I couldn’t see straight.  Actually, I’m pretty sure it was the heat and humidity.  But at the time, I felt like I had lost my classroom mojo, and wasn’t even sure where to look for it.    I envisioned myself barely scraping through the remaining 160+ days of the school year.

I came home, hydrated and cleansed myself, and began to go through the feedback name tents from my students.  And, predictably, their voices, in the form of their calligraphy and questions, cheered me.  Several students asked my age (one sly student asked when I graduated from high school), one asked what my favorite ice cream flavor was, and another asked where I shopped for earrings.  But most of the questions fell into two categories,  which speak to what all students would like to know at the start of a class –  ‘What is expected of me in this class?’ and ‘Will I be able to do it?’  I answered over 100 questions, but the task actually cheered me – I teach because I love math and students (several asked that question as well).  The exercise heartened me for Day 2, which was actually quite awesome, although equally sweaty.

The theme of the Geometry classes was Communication.  We opened with the Pick-a-Point activity lifted from Dan Meyer’s video, and expanded the discussion to include selections using lines (thank you, Quadrant Dan!).  Interestingly, the students didn’t use the letters in the second screen – at least not specifically.  For example, one student said, “It’s the point between A and X.”  I loved their willingness to keep up the challenge.

We then moved on to a Talking Points activity.  I was quite nervous about this; I’ve read several blog posts (Cheesemonkey, for example) since Twitter Math Camp about this, trying to envision how the activity works in real time, and practiced – in my mind –  how to break down the big ideas and directions.  I have to thank Amy Fine over at It’s Fine in the Middle; her clear description of how she ran the activity in her classroom helped me tremendously.  So this morning, even in the swampy morning heat, I took the plunge, and the kids did me proud.   Everyone participated, and they adhered to the No Comment rule without prompting.  I’ve had many of these students before (this is an off-track/repeater course), and it is gratifying to see their personal growth.  And when we were finished and shared out, lovely Brianna hit the nail on the head – “You can hear better what people say because you aren’t trying to talk.”

The class finished with Back-to-Back drawings, an activity in which one student describes a picture to another, who has to draw it purely from their description.  I think having just completed a listening activity contributed to the success of this exercise.  Here are some of the results – and I know the students who were drawing didn’t peek!

Algebra 2 was equally enjoyable, albeit sweatier (these classes were in the afternoon).  I  used a lesson plan that I had written for a class in graduate school, but never implemented; I came across it while cleaning off my desk before the start of school.  After a quick review of the Real Number System (and hinting that there were other numbers which were outside it), we held the Rational Number Challenge.  First, students in teams of 4 were given a list of 20 numbers in all different formats – fractions, decimals, words, constants – and had to order them from least to greatest.  The winning team received one free homework pass (they thought this was FABULOUS).  The groups immediately became engaged and cooperative, and there was a lot of great math talk going on about how to organize the task.

After we had a winner, the real challenge began.  Here is what the rules were:

Again, I was impressed with the engagement and focus given the unpleasant conditions.  And it was fascinating to watch the different teams work.  One team stacked all the Pawns in one corner and pulled them out one at a time to order them.  Other teams moved students around while they stood in line.  And again, the winning team was thrilled with their free homework passes – even though there is no homework yet.

 

I was just as sticky at the end of the second day of school as I was at the end of the first day, but no longer felt quite as desperate.  If we can have a great day under these conditions, imagine how well we’ll do when the air circulates again.

Tomorrow is the big day.  I’m pretty anxious after watching everyone else go back, have their great first days, great first weeks.  It’s given me the opportunity, however, to borrow and adapt liberally – so thank you all.  I’ve been crediting and thanking on Twitter all along, so I hope you all know who you are.  This is the game plan:

We have very brief periods because of program and MetroCard distribution, so I have two objectives.  The first is for each student to create a ‘feedback name tent’ the wonderful idea that I borrowed from Rachel Rosales last year.  They are such a great way to connect with the students individually and quickly.  (Here is a sample my daughter made.)   The second goal is to collect student information.  Thanks to Kristen Fouss, I created my first Google Form survey.  Then, with a little help from Kathryn Freed and @algebrainiac1, I was able to print QR codes with which the students can access the surveys.  I will bring the iPads to class for those students without Smartphones.   We only have 25 minutes per class, so with first day attendance, supply distribution and brief introductions, I’ll be happy if both of these tasks are completed.

On Friday, I have more interesting plans.  In Geometry, the theme of the day is Communication.  We will start with a “Pick A Point” activity as a warm-up, work through a Talking Points exercise as an introduction to cooperative groupwork, and finish with some ‘Back-to-Back’ drawing.  I’m hoping the big takeaways will be the necessity for active listening and clarity in expression.  My Algebra 2 students will be piloting a lesson on the real number system which I wrote as a graduate student (but never had opportunity to use). In teams, the students will be given a set of twenty numbers to put in order from smallest to greatest.  The numbers will be in scientific notation, radical form, written in words, expressed as fractions – you name it.  We’ll try several rounds.   I would like to open the lesson with some constructive talk about groupwork, but I’m not clear on whether I will have time do a Talking Points activity here. [I’d love feedback from anyone reading this who participated in that workshop at TMC14.]    I’m looking forward to both of these lessons –  I feel very positively about how they set the tone for the work to come in both classes, and am predicting high levels of engagement.

I’m saving my course contract for next week; I can’t bear to do it in the first two days when the students are hearing the same thing in every other class.  I’ve transformed by Geometry contract into something I consider much more attractive than the usual laundry list.

Wish me luck!

(subtitled In Response to “For the start of this school year, I am excited about…” at thegeometryteacher.com)

This morning, I read Andrew Shauver’s blog post (highlighted above) which motivated me to let go of my ‘so long to summer’ gloom and look forward with enthusiasm.  In that spirit, I offer the following list of things about which I am either excited or anxious (or both) as the 2014-15 school year begins.

1. My newly crafted Geometry course – I have been given the opportunity to teach a new geometry course (entitled Geometry Fundamentals) which is “Regents-optional” for the students.   I spent the summer working on the curriculum map, seeking hands-on/discovery-based activities to supplement and/or replace much of the direct instruction I have used in the past.  It will definitely be a challenge – the students in this class are those that have struggled with math classes in the past, and a new course means writing new curriculum – but I excited to implement so many of the strategies that I don’t usually have time for in Regents Geometry classes, as well as using Interactive Notebooks.
2. A second pass at Algebra II – I wasn’t satisfied with how this course finished up last year; besides the Regents results which were below par, I know I could have done a better job (a) with student mastery of the content (or as Rick Wormeli so accurately describes, automaticity) in the fall and (b) deep understanding of trigonometry in the spring.  I’m convinced I can improve in including appropriate conceptual activities while maintaining the pace required by our curriculum.  This morning I am especially excited to borrow an activity from Glenn Waddell; my students will learn about Desmos by playing with it, like I did here.
3. My newly crafted classroom! – Because I am considered the only math teacher in my school who would be happy to have tables rather than [old, graffiti-drenched, right-handed only, hard-to-group] desks, I have been placed in a brand new classroom, complete with tables whiteboards, and bulletin boards (all a rarity in my school).  I will be sharing the    classroom, and it doesn’t have a locking supply closet [yet], so I will still be using my beloved cart (Donorschoose proposal #5).  Luckily, the classroom is on the same floor as my office, so I will be spared the long wait for the ancient and only elevator.  I am looking forward to being able to decorate my room, and….
4. Bulletin Boards – I have been put in charge of the math department bulletin boards, and although I may have thought of this as a chore in the past, I can’t wait to remove the Jeopardy board with Pre-Calc questions that was on the wall when I started working at this school three years ago.  I have wonderful monitors who love a creative challenge (they did my MathMunch display last spring); cheery elves to help with the work always make it better!
5. Mathletes – I can’t wait to see my math club – again, their enthusiasm, their desire to tackle problems  – discuss and argue different solutions – make staying late a pleasure.  One of the students attended the NY Math Circle’s Summer Program and I am looking forward to hearing about his experience; this is a child who loves a challenge, to learn -or teach himself – something completely new.
   

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6. A New Co-Teacher – There are two new teachers in our department this year, one of whom will be my co-teacher in the inclusion section of the Geometry class.  Last year, my cooperating teacher and I were not so cooperative (read any of my blog post’s from last spring), but he was only temporarily placed at our school, which probably undermined his commitment.  I’ve had wonderful relationships with cooperating teachers in the past, and I’m determined this one will be added to that list.
7. Talk Like A Pirate Day – Just because we need to have a little fun, and I’ve never done this before.
8. My New Attitude – I am DETERMINED to achieve greater balance in my life – both personal and professional this year.  I have set goals for myself (see Conundrum), and am envisioning how I will meet them and stick to them.  I’ve tackled and survived a lot worse.

I want to thank all of you in MTBoS who have already gone back to school and have been blogging about it; your energy, insight, and honesty have all helped me get ready.

 

I spent the day sifting through piles of papers, rediscovering lost gems (my favorite Onion math teacher article), tossing things I’ve never used (though I once was certain I would), just generally weeding things out, recycling old folders and binders.  After the positive meeting at school yesterday, I thought for sure I would be able to focus on the imminent start of school, envision and map out the first days in my classes.  But the hours slipped away this afternoon – amazing how time passes when your goals are unclear.  By dinner time, all the loose papers had either been sorted into binders or recycled, my files had been thinned and streamlined, and my planner for the fall organized.  I was troubled, though; I knew that this time last year, I was enthused and excited with my plans for the start of school, and that even with the good work I’ve done this summer, I’m not there yet – I can’t specifically conceive of how it’s going to go, in just one short week. 

After dinner, I took a walk; the evening was lovely – breezy and cool.  I found a quiet place to have a coffee and try to establish clear goals for myself – the foundation of any successful plan.  I started with the same goal I have had for the last three years:

• BETTER BALANCE IN MY LIFE:
  • Time for the gym 2 evenings/week and once on the weekend;
  • Time to quilt at least 2 full weekend days per month, and evenings;
  • Time to relax in the evening 3-4 hours/week;
  • At least 7.5 hours sleep each night.
    

    Optimistic?

It all sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?  Yet I haven’t been able to do this yet in the last 8 years.

I moved on to my goals for Geometry, which came pretty easily – after all, that is the class I’ve been thinking about all summer, the course I’ve already mapped out.  But Algebra 2 is the problematic course for me this term.

Following the Regents Passing Rate saga last June, I need to better ensure that my students master the content according to my department’s goals (this was made quite clear to me yesterday by my Assistant Principal), but the volume of content required to be covered in the fall term is formidable. 

  The only way I can see completing the required curriculum successfully is by abandoning many of the conceptual activities which make so much more sense to me for creating deep understanding, in favor of procedural teaching and practice.  This goes against a lot of how I believe math should be taught, and the work I have done to transform my practice in the last few years.  But ignoring what’s been asked of me by my administrator is not in my best interest (nor necessarily in my students’ best interests, either).  

It is actually easier to teach this way than to craft [even when borrowed] engaging inquiry and problem-solving activities that elicit productive conversations and deeper understanding, isn’t it?  But not nearly as interesting, for sure, and not why I teach. Following this train of thought, however, I was able to map out the semester, and sadly was able to see myself barreling through the content with lots and lots of worksheets, driving my students to continually practice those problems which will appear on departmental exams and the Regents in June.  Maybe this is what I need to do for a year to improve my ‘results.’

Or do I?  Sigh.  I welcome and seek your feedback. 

Coming back from Vermont is always a shock to my system, and even though I spent some time online while I was there – thanks to the Encompass Summer Institute – I somehow missed the #mtboschallenge start.    As I caught up on my blog reading, and listened to everyone’s start of school stories (mine is still 9 days away), the urge to participate has won out [for the moment] over my escapist fantasy of living in the mountains on my beloved lakeshore.  And talking about books is always a joy – I mean, I do have a degree in English Language and Literature….but that’s a long story.

Let me admit, right off the bat, that I am addicted to books.  These are the  bookcases in my office at home.  I try these days to limit my purchases to books that I cannot read online, from the library, or borrow, but the recommendations from the many people I respect in the online community make it difficult to control the impulse to own these treatises of pedagogical wisdom.

This first set of books were seminal texts in my development as an urban educator.  When I joined the NYC Teaching Fellows, I ‘talked the talk’  – I said that I became a teacher because I thought that was one of the few ways in which an individual could actually effect change in the world, even if on a small and personal scale, and that I wanted to help provide quality education to all children.  I don’t think I knew what that meant until I started reading about the importance of language (Lisa Delpit, Other People’s Children), discourse analysis (James Paul Gee, Social Linguistics and Literacies), and the limits of urban school reform (Jean Anyon, Radical Possibilities).  I can truly say that these books changed my outlook in a fundamental way – or maybe they just gave me the words for the inchoate ideas that motivated my career change.  I read Rafe Esquith’s Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire at the end of my first incredibly difficult (who’s isn’t?) year of teaching, and his creativity in creating a classroom culture of achievement and community gave me fuel and ideas to return for a second one.  Of course, trying to implement all his ideas at once wasn’t a recipe for success (so I learned by mid-October), but I remain inspired to this day.

These two books by Paul Lockhart – especially A Mathematician’s Lament – have hugely impacted my philosophy of teaching math, and especially Geometry.   Geometry was my first love in high school, and I was thrilled to be teaching it.  I was certain, when I started out, that I would be able to enlighten my students, help them progress upwards on the Van Hiele levels, and convert them all to the religion of geometry.  Guess again.  So when I came to the chapter entitled “High School Geometry: Instrument of the Devil”, I took a hard look in the mirror, and began to rethink my approach.   And Lockhart made sure that I suffered no delusions about the benefits of my ‘traditional’ approach to the curriculum: “All metaphor aside, geometry class is by far the most mentally and emotionally destructive component of the entire K-12 mathematics curriculum.  Other math courses may hide the beautiful bird, or put it in a cage, but in geometry class it is openly and cruelly tortured.”   Measurement is a delight; Lockhart explores the beauty of math in an accessible, challenging and engaging way. 

These are my most recent favorite reads, although truth be told, I am working my way through 5 Practices (I know, I know – it’s such a slim book!), but every page has something worthwhile for me to think about, and I have approximately 20 pages unread in both Invisible Children and This is Not A Test.  Vilson’s book – part memoir, part policy narrative, was engaging, familiar [as a fellow Teaching Fellow] and very accessible, and then it hit me right between the eyes – the chapter “Where The Hustle Comes From” held up yet another harsh mirror to my classroom, and my impatience with any student not paying attention, or trying to leave the room.  You can’t read this book and come away unchanged.   I found the book Invisible Children while perusing Don Steward’s excellent blog; he mentioned this book as a highly influential text in his teaching, and based on my respect for his work, I sought out a copy (it was published in 1989 and is no longer in print, I believe).  Pye describes the ‘bottle shape’ in the classroom which captures the teacher’s attention when they are in the front of the room – the center rows and the back of the class.  The sides of the room, even at the front, are where the ‘invisible children’ reside.   His descriptions of how remarkable children, only needing acknowledgment, are hidden and looked over (by their own design at times) ring true for any teacher of large classes.  I will be looking at my classroom very carefully this fall, with new eyes. 

I also have to mention Embedded Formative Assessment; its research-based analysis of formative assessment and practical strategies were enormously helpful in developing my practice in this area.  I don’t have a picture of this book because I have lent it to a friend.

On the reading list for this year are the following goodies:

• Powerful Problem-Solving by the wonderful Max Ray;
• Fair Isn’t Always Equal by Rick Wormeli;
• getting familiar with Squaring the Circle, a wonderful Geometry text based in Art and Architecture;
• For the Love of Physics by Walter Lewin, because someday I’ll have my online book club with Teresa Ryan (@geometrywiz)
• this gorgeous version of The Elements of Euclid

There are many other books on other lists I have (tucked away in lots of nooks and crannies, both virtual and real) of book references made by people I respect, and I know that these lists will continue to grow.   And I’m sure I’ve forgotten some faves here.  But like I said, I studied Literature, and I can keep going….ad infinitum….

I don’t know how to finish off this post, for some reason, so I’ll conclude with this photo from the Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival in Burlington on August 3.  It’s a moving and exciting annual event to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer.  The boats are lovely, and there’s something very mathematical about the rowing team, don’t you think?

 

 

 

 

I am teaching (I think) a revised geometry course this fall, one in which taking the Regents will be an option for students.  This gives me the freedom to do some more inquiry-based and exploratory activities, which are usually eliminated in the rush to cover every topic by the June exam.  I am also planning on using Interactive Notebooks in this class.

My first step has been to draft a curriculum map http://hermathness.wikispaces.com/Geometry, which as you can see is not complete – it needs, at the very least CCSS alignment posted, as well as assessments for each unit – but having a complete grid will give me an organized structure with which to fill things in, as well as an outline for creating my INB templates.

I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, and and will update the map as I go along.

Sitting here at my dining room table, it’s pretty quiet – and sounds like a summer afternoon. Occasional shouts of children filter in through the window, the fan whirrs [sort of] quietly overhead, and there is an occasional gardening machine (lawn mover, edger?) briefly creating some dissonance. Thank goodness the backyards in Brooklyn are postage-stamp size; mowing the lawn only takes about 5 minutes, for anyone on my block.

I am relaxed – which is no small feat – but there’s a little bit of a nagging feeling, which I easily ignore much of the time, that I am not ‘getting enough done’ in this wonderful expanse of free time. The summer is when I can do grand planning, self-study, pleasure reading, and quilting. I have a list which I tried to keep manageable, but it’s always longer than any one person could accomplish in a summer. I’ve been reading on line and on Twitter other teachers’ preparatory work, and I’m wondering whether I’ve gotten anything done. So, to put my mind to rest for the moment, I thought I would make a list of what I want to do and what I have done to get some perspective.

TO DO:

(1) Write curriculum outline for new Geometry “Regents-optional” class including:

– hands-on activities using patty paper, manipulatives, tools of construction, iPads

– cooperative problem-solving

– interactive notebooks [which need to be separately planned];

(2) Review Calculus through Schaum’s Outline in preparation for online Calc III class;

(3) Finish reading Lockhart’s Measurement finally! (I can’t resist stopping to solve every problem which makes it slow (but fun) going;

(4) Learn to use Geogebra;

(5) Finish 3 quilts of varying sizes and complexity, one which I have been working on for 10 years (not steadily), and two for current occasions with DEADLINES;

(6) Read/peruse at least 3 other books for school/math: Invisible Children by James Pye, Taxicab Geometry by Eugene Krause, and at least one of the 6 or 7 other books on my desk!

That’s a crazy list, I see that now.

WHAT I’VE DONE

(1) Begin writing curriculum outline (through Unit 3) after energizing meet-up with @samjshah;

(2) Begin learning Geogebra after equally energizing online session with @jensilvermath;

(3) Work through 4 units in Schaum’s, although I haven’t gotten to the hard stuff yet;

(4) Read half of Invisible Children;

(5) Worked through a whole bunch of hands-on activities collected through the year and at conferences and explored their inclusion in geometry class;

(6) Make slow progress on all three quilts;

(7) Get back into the MTBoS and my tweeps, which thankfully, wonderfully is always available, which includes not only chatting but actively reading blogs (which means linking to more blogs with more ideas and on and on) ;

(8) Gone to the gym every other day – consistently!

(9) Caught up on a LOT of Netflix binging!

I guess I’m on the right track; it’s just when I hear those sounds of July, I feel SO lazy, and wait – there’s another series on Netflix I haven’t watched yet?

 

 

After all the hard work, the enthusiasm, the reflecting, the HOURS and HOURS spent researching, networking, sharing, thinking – my year has been summarized by an overall passing rate on the Algebra 2 Regents exam that is lower than my colleagues.  And after a year of my best work as an educator, not only did I find this out in a rather unpleasant manner (via text message while away at Exeter), but it seems as if the support and encouragement given to me by my supervisor has vanished because of this number. (It is thus highly ironic that I was awarded an extremely high number under the new teacher evaluation system prior to this.)

This was my first year teaching this course, and I am not happy with my numbers.  But I am also looking at this situation objectively and recognizing that this is what it feels like to be defined wholly by a number.   I shudder to think what teachers whose test scores were published in newspapers went through.

I had a great deal of difficulty writing my glowing post about Exeter earlier today because this issue was lurking just below the surface.  I put it aside while I was away, but am now confronting what it may mean for me next year programmatically and as part of the school community.  I have been filled with anxiety about a ‘loss in stature’ within my department, without seeing the larger issue – that my quest for excellence and engagement for my students and myself only matters if standardized test scores are high enough.  And that is an ugly truth.

I’ve survived far worse in my life than this, and refuse to allow my cherished summer to be ruined.  But the black storm clouds this evening definitely mirrored my mood.  Thankfully, the thunderstorm brought cooling rain and a lovely breeze.  We’ll sleep well tonight.