I’m on vacation this week, so I thought I’d do a quick round up of Math Secrets to date: Math Secret #1: There’s More than One Way to Skin a Math Problem: Most math teachers teach that that there’s one
Film Friday: Tom Lehrer’s New Math
Today’s Film Friday is brought to you by one of my favorite teenagers in the world, Simon, who introduced me to Tom Lehrer earlier this year. This version was done by lipsyncORswim. (Warning for those who are satirically challenged: this is supposed to
Summer Session: What your rising first grader should know
Math for Grownups blog readers tend to fall into two camps: grownups who are not parents and really hate math (or think they’re not good at it), and parents who are worried that they’re going to pass along their math
Film Friday: Vi Hart, Doodling in Math Class, Binary Trees
You really don’t have to know or care what “binary trees” are to appreciate Vi Hart’s genius. And I’m so excited to finally introduce you all to her. Vi calls herself a “recreational mathematician.” In other words, she plays with
Math Secret #3: You can skip the love
When I was a camp counselor after my sophomore year of college, I had a standard response to kids who asked, “Do I have to?” Whether they were complaining about sweeping out the cabin or taking a hike, I’d look
Film Fridays: As the pendulum swings
Over the last year, I’ve come across lots of great math-related videos, and now that my blog is up and book is out, people are sending me links to many more. I thought Fridays would be a great time to share them.
Is Math a Foreign Language?
When I was in college, majoring in math education, I learned that math is the language of science. In fact, we called it the Queen of the Sciences. (You’d better believe that gave me a sense of superiority over the
Math for first graders
Want to know what really burns me up? Telling a kid he’s not good at math. Know what’s just as bad? Telling a mom that her kid isn’t good at math. This morning, I was early for my fitness boot
Math Secret #2: You Were Born This Way
I’m on the right track, baby I was born this way –Lady Gaga It was day two of my second year of teaching high school geometry, and already I had been called for a parent meeting in the principal’s office.
Mixing in Math: Teacher Cooks Up Lesson in the Kitchen
So this apparently is big news in Myrtle Beach. A middle school math teacher actually took her kids out of the classroom to teach them math. In the school cafeteria, the students converted decimals to percents and found surface area
Math Secret #1: There’s More than One Way to Skin a Math Problem
The more I talk to people about math, the more I hear this refrain: “I don’t like math, because math problems have only one answer.” Peshaw! Okay, so it’s not such a crazy idea. Most math problems do have one
My Math Story
The biggest fights my father and I had were about math. I kid you not. The year was 1984. I was a junior in high school, taking Algebra II. Radicals were kicking my scrawny, little butt. (Remember radicals? They look