One thing that struck me was the section in the text about Colin and his failing literature grade despite his flourishing blog. Beers writes, “She [the teacher] saw him as a ‘struggling reader and writer’ and someone who would ‘struggle with literacy in the real world.’ He saw her as ‘just completely out of it’ and having ‘no clue’ what he knew or could do” (p 10). Through this narrative and my own experiences in school, I feel that our education system and many of our teachers have failed to take advantage of students’ interests by pushing students to explore, analyze, synthesize, and experiment with topics of interest. The best way to help anyone learn is to get them interested and involved in the process. And we, as students, know it. But the question is, how do I as a future mathematics teacher ensure that my students develop the literacy needed to thrive in the working world? That is the question I want to often come back to as I blog in this class. I am not sure where it will take me because, like I said, I am not sure how reading is necessarily emphasized in a mathematics classroom. But I am excited and intrigued by the prospect.
The first chapter of Adolescent Literacy got me thinking about why literacy is important to consider in every classroom, including a math classroom. Chapter 10 was a bit different. The goals of our school systems seem to be focused on standardized tests and becoming proficient in each of the subjects.
But the real world isn’t broken into subjects.
To succeed in almost any job (not just survive, but to succeed), one needs to have a plethora of skills. This is why I loved chapter 10! It outlined some of the basic skills that a working adult needs in order to thrive in their workplace. Something that I have noticed since coming to college is this: universities generally teach these skills while high schools (and elementary schools I think…I was homeschooled before high school so I can’t say for sure) seem to neglect them. I have learned how to collaborate, synthesize and adapt through my experiences at Olivet than I ever did in high school. Why not teach basic life skills and tools in high school that prepare for the real world instead of “preparing students for college?”
As this class progresses, I’m looking forward to reading other math ed students’ blogs. I think sharing ideas is a wonderful way to build a strong future curriculum. So, that being said, as I read about the skills, I began to form ideas about how I can teach seemingly un-mathematical skills to my mathematics students in my mathematics classroom while learning mathematics. Beers writes about synthesizers and quotes Daniel Pink, “Pink insists that ‘it is the capacity to synthesize rather than analyze; to see relationships between seemingly unrelated fields; to detect broad patterns rather than to deliver specific answers; and to invent something new by combining elements nobody else thought to pair’ that will be valued and rewarded in the workplace of the future” (p 154). As a mathematics student, I somewhat disagree. I would almost argue that both synthesizing and analyzing are equally important. But I think that many mathematics teachers and curriculum are too worried about producing an analytical student instead of a well rounded student who can both find the correct answer and also connect that answer to other information.
Besides this, the biggest take away I received from chapter 10 further reinforced a part of my teaching philosophy and it was this: I want my teaching to enable by students to solve problems (and not just math problems) on their own, with others (both peers and adults), and with different resources. I think this philosophy has come in part from my homeschooling experience which I couldn’t be more grateful for. It is so important for an independent adult to be able to logically and rationally tackle problems from different angles. So many students try one method to complete a problem and, upon the first failure, they give up. The key is to develop skills that allow individual students to try again, learn from their mistakes, and seek our assistance when needed.
I could honestly go on and on about the ideas I had after reading chapter 10. For example, having students teach each other, learn how to organize their work, and personalizing a math project using their own interests and strengths are skills that came to mind while reading about the explainers, leveragers, and personalizers. It make me excited to think creatively about my future classroom and I am looking forward to how this class can help me develop my future students into successful, thriving adults.
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