TITLE: Two True Sentences about Teaching Math
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: June 11, 2017  9:40 AM
DESC: 
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BODY:
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
 Math phobia is a common affliction of [K-12] teachers,
 and something that must be resisted if strong and able
 students are our goal.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
 Our own confusion about math can be an important aid
 in our teaching, if we take it seriously.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

 That second sentence applies to more than math, and more than K-12.

 These come from <EM>To Teach</EM>, by William Ayers.  This book is
 about teaching in K-12 schools, especially younger grades, with no
 particular focus on math or any other subject.  These sentences
 come from a chapter on "liberating the curriculum", in which Ayers
 talks about specific issues in teaching reading, math, science,
 and social studies.  Otherwise, the book is about ways of thinking
 about learning that respect the individual and break down
 artificial boundaries between areas of knowledge.

 Teaching at a university is different, of course, because we are
 working with older, more mature students.  They are more capable
 of directing their own learning and are, at least in my discipline,
 usually taking courses as part of a major they themselves have
 chosen.  You would think that engagement and motivation would take
 on much different forms in the college setting.

 However, I think that most of what Ayers says applies quite well to
 teaching college.  This is especially true when students come to us
 hamstrung by a K-12 education such that they cannot, or at least do
 not as a matter of habit, take control of their learning.  But I
 think his advice is true of good teaching anywhere, at least in
 spirit:
<UL>
<LI> Get to know each student.  </LI>
<LI> Create an environment that encourages and supports learning.  </LI>
<LI> Build bridges to ideas across the discipline and to ideas in
     other disciplines.  </LI>
<LI> Engage constantly with the question of what experiences will
     most help students on the path to wherever they are going.  </LI>
</UL>

 One of my favorite lines from the book is <B>You can learn everything
 from anything</B>.  Start with any topic in the CS curriculum, or any
 project that someone wants to build, and you will eventually touch
 every part of the field.  I think we could do some interesting things
 with the CS curriculum by focusing courses on projects instead of
 topic areas.  I love how Ayers suggests bringing this mindset even to
 kindergarten students.

 Ayers's book is a thin volume, the sort I like, with good stories and
 thought-provoking claims about how we approach students and schools.
 Eugene sez: two thumbs up.
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