Living and Loving Math
X (however many) Habits of Highly Effective Math Teaching:
You are the teacher. You show the way - also with your attitudes, your way of life.
Do you use math often in your daily life? Is using mathematical reasoning, numbers, measurements, etc. a natural thing to you every day?
And then: do you like math? Love it? Are you happy to teach it? Enthusiastic?
Both of these tend to show up in how you teach, but especially so in a homeschooling enviroment, because at home you're teaching your kids a way of life, and if math is a natural part of it or not.
Math is not a drudgery, nor something just confined to math lessons.
Some ideas:
I've talked about all this before, so I really don't want to go into repeating myself too much. But I did want to include this principle in my "mini-series" of effective habits of math teaching.
Part 4: Living and Loving Math
You are the teacher. You show the way - also with your attitudes, your way of life.
Do you use math often in your daily life? Is using mathematical reasoning, numbers, measurements, etc. a natural thing to you every day?
And then: do you like math? Love it? Are you happy to teach it? Enthusiastic?
Both of these tend to show up in how you teach, but especially so in a homeschooling enviroment, because at home you're teaching your kids a way of life, and if math is a natural part of it or not.
Math is not a drudgery, nor something just confined to math lessons.
Some ideas:
- Let it make sense. This alone can usually make math quite a difference and kids will stay interested.
- Read through some fun math books, such as Theoni Pappas books, or puzzle-type books. Get to know some interesting math topics besides just schoolbook arithmetic. And, there are even story books to teach math concepts - see a list here.
- Try including a bit about math history. This might work best in a homeschooling environment where there is no horrible rush to get through the thick book before the year is over. Julie at LivingMath.net has suggestions for math history books to buy.
- When you use math in your daily life, explain how you're doing it, and include the children if possible. Figure it out together.
I've talked about all this before, so I really don't want to go into repeating myself too much. But I did want to include this principle in my "mini-series" of effective habits of math teaching.
Comments
I am aware of the rote-ness some professors and materials ascribe to, and attempt to be conscious of myself when I feel I am just going through the motions.
Anywho, thank you for sharing your love of math and pointing others in the right direction to further our own love. :)