Cleaning up the Math, an introduction

I've decided to blog again, this time with the idea that I can potentially help people to help their children, long term, not only in their math classes, but in life. You see, I believe life is just a little bit easier if you are good at basic math. I think a lot of people agree with me, and that's why it's one of those basic skills we try to teach in public education. My ideas of what "basic math" we all need to work on are probably very different than what you are thinking. I don't plan to review algebra, or how to add or multiply, or any of that. I'm focused more on the way we "talk math", and how that can lead to success or failure at "doing math".

Imagine you are cooking a cheese sauce with someone, and you say "now dump in the cheese", when in all actuality you meant for them to sprinkle it in slowly and stir it as it dissolved. They follow what you said and dump it all in at once. Depending on the recipe, you may have just ruined the entire batch, ending with a lump of warm cheese and NOT a sauce that you can pour over your pasta. My point... language in any field is very important. Misuse, or misunderstanding can result in unintended (possibly useless) results.

I have an uncommon perspective on math education. I teach undergraduate and graduate level math classes, I observe and help student teachers in their 7-12 math classes, and I have preschool and elementary age kids at home and I stay very involved in what they are learning. In other words, I see bits and pieces of the entire spectrum of math education.

Many people struggle with math. I'm not here to answer why. But there are some "Common misconceptions" and "Common language" issues that in the long run can set you and your child up for a lot of mistakes not just on math tests, but in life. Learning something correctly the first time is easier than relearning. So, this series of posts is going to discuss some of these issues that I've personally either had to struggle to correct in my students, or seen other teachers struggle to fix.

I'm also happy to hear debate and discussion on these ideas. So comment away.

Future post topics will probably touch on

• Dividing "by" vs "into"
• Causation vs. correlation
• A banana is a fruit
• THE equation of a line
• Using intuitive, common words in math and when that can get us in trouble.
  
• "A line segment is a line" and other self-referential definitions.
  
• Straight (?) lines
  
• What exactly is an angle?
• Is a sphere just a 3D circle? Is a cube a 3D square?
  
• What exactly is a cylinder?

(please feel free to send me topic suggestions or write a guest post!)

Stay tuned.

Extreme Parenting Part One of many

The baby (Lisanne) awakes with a coo and a smile, ready to greet the day. Isn't that sweet? Yes, unless it is 3:00 a.m.

The alarm goes off at 6:15 a.m. too soon after she finally goes back to sleep. I force myself out of bed and start to gather paper work, birth certificates, photos, applications and the trip manifest. We have to drive all five of us to Norwalk CT by 9:30 a.m. to go to the office where you can get passports in a day.

Why? What would motivate two fairly sane, well educated adults to rush VERY young children through this experience? Not much should ... except a free trip on a private jet to the Bahamas.

My sister has a friend who is more than generous... he is taking all five of us, my sister and her two kids and another friend and kid on his private jet to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. Rumor has it the "VIP services and Butler team" are awaiting our arrival to a collection of suites, including the penthouse suite (which is twice the size of my HOUSE). Yes, a once in a life time opportunity, how can I say no? I still don't quite believe it is real, I'll believe it when I see it.

So, to get quick passports you need to make an appointment at one of these special offices and prove you need the passport in less than 14 days. A plane ticket would suffice. But we don't have tickets, we are flying on a private jet...so I get a pdf itinerary which at 6:30 a.m. won't print.

Scott works to get the girls up and dressed. I reboot computers and printers for 40 minutes. By the time I get the paper we are now 20 minutes late.

Into the car we rush, no breakfast for any of us except milk for the older girls. Within two minutes, Margaux spits up half of hers...car sick?

30 minutes into the 2+ hour drive Lisanne is now ready for her milk...but she doesn't take a bottle, so we agree to stop some place and Scott will get breakfast for the rest of us while I feed Lisanne. Should take 10 minutes tops, and I'm cruising so we are making up some lost time. We should be OK.

Except after her first bite of breakfast, Margaux again spits up... ok that is really too light a term. She pukes everywhere.

Now 35 minutes later we finally get her and the car cleaned to the point where we can get back on the road, promising her (and ourselves) that we will change her gross clothes when we get to the passport agency. Yuck... and now VERY late.

It becomes apparent we are NOT going to make our 9:30 appointment. Scott calls and gets a 10:30...YEAH! So our journey continues.

We arrive at the passport agency and we are in federal government hell. First airport like security to even get in the door. Then long lines and a security guard who likes to yell at everyone in there "Parents mind your children." "Keep you voices down." "If you miss your turn you have to go back to the end of the line again." I have three kids, four and under. This was crazy talk. Nearly two hours later we left with a promise of passports to our house in two days. Amazingly, my kids did OK.

By the time we were riding home, Josephine was screaming "I WANT OUT OF HERE"...Scott and I were nodding in agreement.

We made it.

I can't even begin to describe this week

Today is hopefully the end of a difficult week. Perhaps I shouldn't write this until I get home, just in case...but when I get home I have better things to do that write in a blog, like take care of three kids.

OK, let's summarize the week.

Last Saturday was Margaux's 2nd birthday. That was the highlight of the week!

Saturday I call my mom to ask a cooking question and she tells me she broke four vertebrae in her back. Now remember, she is the primary caregiver to my Dad who is in terrible shape. They are in Florida so it is stressful not knowing if they are really OK and what they need. Plus, geez, when anyone in my family gets hurts, I worry.

Sunday I call my sister Lynn in Texas to make sure she knows about Mom, and Lynn tells me a lot of bad things are happening with my niece Stephanie and her 20 month old baby Savanna. The latest chapter is they are MIA, literally.

Monday Scott gets sick. I have to say he handled it well this week, and he really was suffering.

Tuesday I bring Lisanne to the doctor for a weight check, and she still has not gained any weight. A nearly 4 month old baby that has gained just 5 pounds is not good. So, up the reflux medicines and set up weekly doctor's appointments for her.

Tuesday night we have dinner at Leon's house (president of Bard College). That was actually quite fun!

But that night, it rains, and rains and rains. And into the basement the water came. Inches of water. So Scott and I are up all night (literally) bailing out the basement. Thankfully the kids sleep through most of it, but hmmm...if the kids are sleeping for a change, I would like to be sleeping too!

Wednesday was laundry day, all day recovering from the basement mess.

Thursday at 5:30 a.m. Scott leaves for Philly, leaving me with three kids ages 4, 2 and 3.5 months.

Thursday night at dinner Margaux announces "Mommy, wear rice go?". "I don't know", I say, "Where did the rice go?" "Up Nose!!" she announces. So off we go to the ER...me and three kids (remember Scott is in Philly). Luckily she is fine.

Friday, well so far we are OK. Fingers crossed we get home OK. Sigh, what a week.

Kids Birthdays

This weekend marks Margaux's second birthday. I don't often "spoil" my kids, but I love to go a little overboard on their birthdays.

So, Margaux wanted an ice cream cake, so not only did I make the ice cream cake, I made the ice cream!

We are holding her party at home one more time, and again it is a soup party. I love soup parties. I make three or four batches of different soups, and last year I made four types of bread too (this year I'm making one type). Guests LOVE it.

Last year instead of party bags, I sent everyone home with enough soup and bread for a dinner at home some other night. I figured the parents deserved party bags sometimes too!

So, Black Bean, Pumpkin and Un-Chicken soup are on the menu this year, with store bought Sour dough and Corn bread (my Mom's Johnny cake recipe actually). Since we moved the party to a lunch party this should be just fine.

Now off to prepare my lecture for tomorrow!

First post

Blogging...it seems so...egotistical. As if someone out there might care to read my thoughts. Well, I enjoy reading other people's blogs, so who knows, maybe someone will care about mine.

Then it struck me. Long term, many years from now, my kids might care. Think the blog will still be here for them to read? Heck it is Google, it probably will be. Looking back I can tell you I would love to know what my mother was thinking and feelings as she raised all of her children and struggled with her new identity as a Mom vs. the old identity of smart, driven career woman....She tells me the times were different then and she was younger when she had her kids. But still, she graduated high school with my father and she was valedictorian and he was third. Then five years later she marries him, supports him as he gets his PhD, and soon after is a stay at home Mom for 10 years or more...

Sounds too much like my life.

Not easy to go from top of the class, top of the world, to laundress, milk cow and house cleaner.

So, that is what this blog is supposed to be about. Is it unique? Nah. But it's me, and so automatically it is different than you.

Come along for the ride.