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Friday, October 16, 2009

My Friday Five


Five things I have learned this week:

1. I learned that I have a lot to offer as a substitute for a Math Methods course at SF State: the students were very enthusiastic and grateful for all the number sense activities and especially, my mention of how to take an arithmetic activity, like fact memorization, and turn it into an algebraic thinking routine.

2. I continue to learn that when I over focus on one aspect of my karate belt, I can easily lose other, more basic parts. I must create a schedule where I practice all parts of my belt through the week and only have a few focus days.

3. I learned $1.00 can buy a kid almost 400 calories in the form of sour candy. I think that useless calories should cost more than useful ones.

4. I learned how to set up a wiki and blog for a project "Where's the math?".

5. I learned that visiting schools in San Francisco can be very difficult and nearly impossible and it makes me wonder what they think they are hiding. Openness is a virtue, schools! (See note below from one prestigious school in response to my request) I suspect it might be easier to visit a school in Cuba or North Korea.

Dear Mr. Kenyon It is not our privilege to welcome individuals to observe our classes, unless they are specifically linked with some larger institutional purposes, (Such as a study or research project) and acting on behalf of an accredited institution that can be held accountable for their presence in the classroom. This is a longwinded way of saying that unless you are part of a group or effort sanctioned by our district we are unable to grant you access to our classrooms. Respectfully

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