An experiment in blogging

So I haven't been doing this thing called blogging for a while. Let's just say that I've been busy. As an assignment for my boys, I'm asking them to start their own blogs. We've done some research, but they are still hesitant to blog, especially where other people can read them. I guess Mom needs to set the example, so here I am! I need something else to do, don't I? So here come my random musings about things that interest me. Let's see...running, soccer, sports, lacrosse mom, baseball mom, the environment, pretty much a little of this, and a little of that! See you soon!

New school year, new adventures

If I had my own school, I'd ... Anyone else ever said this? I know I have, many times. As a former teacher (STEM, middle school math, science, technology), I've both said and heard this sentence starter many times. Most of what follows are ideas that have come from years of experience, both as teachers and as students. Over the past couple of years, my family has adjusted, and struggled many times, with making sense of the changes in the public education system. I left the private school system due to working conditions and health reasons, and moved to the public school system just in time to implement Common Core math standards with struggling students. No small task there, but I'll leave those rants for another day. After much consideration, I decided to leave the education world, but my children were unfortunately still there. I'd thought about homeschooling many times over the years, but had not taken the leap. My kids didn't want to leave their friends, it would be better next year with different teachers, this is just a fad. Plus, we needed the income. So I was still busy teaching other people's children, and hoping that mine were getting what they needed. Don't get me wrong, most of their teachers have been phenomenal, and I'm glad that they got to enjoy that experience. But I also know that they could be doing so much more with their learning time than what they were doing. So this year, we're making the leap. A little fear, a lot of excitement, and full steam ahead!

Picture of a Migraine

I've had migraines for many years. Nothing can spoil a day faster than the initial inkling that an aura is beginning. In it's smallest stages, the aura is barely noticeable, I try to deny that it's happening, again, but within a few seconds, I can deny it no longer. My field of vision is diminishing, the jagged edges, the semicircle of triangular teeth gets larger, and larger. The colors are so vivid and vibrant that classifying them merely with the words red, blue, black, and white is an injustice. Quick, take something, anything, to prevent or minimize the headache, find the darkest room possible, and close my eyes. Then the aura is more alive, it flickers, it changes, but the pattern remains, more vibrant on the dark background of my tightly closed eyes. The experience is surreal, and the image of the aura would make beautiful artwork, if the experience was not followed by the pain.

My links won't work but here's the sites if you want to copy/paste:
http://www.migraine-aura.org/content/e24966/index_en.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrrviW0Od-w

Then my math brain kicks in. What is the pattern? Can I draw this image and analyze it? As with many other natural phenomenon, I would imagine this image to be fractal in nature, consisting of layers of repeating semicircles of jagged triangles, regressing into nothingness due to our limited visibility, but infinite in its ultimate regression.



Due to my curiosity, I decided to research the visual aura. The image, under other circumstances, would be a welcome diversion. The video gives an example, if you've never had the aura, but the colors are limited by video, so I can't fix that. A simple Google search on "migraine aura picture" let me to the website MigrainAura.org which contains artwork in several mediums related to migraine headaches and auras. There are some interesting collections here, including several video montages of artwork inspired by migraines. While none of these are exactly what I see, as I assume each individual has a similar but unique aura, several accurately represent the migraine aura, albeit with colors limited by manmade materials.

I hope this post has helped to put a picture to migraine auras. I will now go bury my head beneath a pillow in a dark room and hope for relief!

What ever happened to personal responsibility?

Okay, it's soapbox Sunday. After watching the Sunday morning news shows this morning, with all the talk about Congressman Weiner, I cannot help but write about personal responsibility. Where did it go?

I know that responsibility for ones own actions is alive and well in my house, as well as my classroom. We have a phrase that we use in my family, and at school also: If you mess up, you fess up. No blaming others, no excuses, no lying, just admit it. When students use the "he did x to me first" tactic, I often ask them if they've ever watched hockey. Does arguing with the referree ever get a player out of a penalty? No, it doesn't, and it doesn't work in my classroom either. I had a discussion with a group of students earlier this week about keeping their hands to themselves, and of course, the first comment was that another student touched them first. I asked this group "has the blaming someone else tactic ever worked for you this year?" Their answer, a resounding no. Do they still do it? Yes, but they are catching on that it is not effective, at least not with me.

So when I'm watching television, and I hear adults in positions of power blaming the molestation of children (and the coverup that followed) on the sexual revolution, the state of the economy on political foes, and bad decisions as a need for "treatment," I'm dumbfounded. It's always someone else's fault, I couldn't help it, I need treatment. We've become a society who does not accept responsibility for our own actions.

I'm curious about this "treatment" that Congressman Weiner is seeking. I didn't realize that we had treatment programs for making stupid decisions. I certainly hope that whatever this treatment is, it is conducted by the drill sergeant from the Geico commercials, because he needs to man up and get out of mamby-pamby land and take responsibility for his own actions of making stupid decisions.

Handicapping in the Classroom? You bet!

Friends and family know that I am a big fan of horseracing. Let's face it, I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and spent considerable time in my formative years at Keeneland Racecourse. The first Saturday in May is, and always will be, a holiday on my calendar.

Now that I live in Maryland, I try to incorporate the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown into my math classroom. Horseracing here is just not as prominent as it is in Kentucky, so I am on a mission to introduce a new generation to this event. This is one of my favorite units, and since I have some students three years in a row, I have to mix it up a bit each year.

Most of my unit focuses on probability. Sure, I could have the kids spinning spinners, flipping coins, or other activies (which we do also), but there's nothing like the excitement of watching a 2 minute race hoping that the name you drew out of a hat is the winner!

What is handicapping, really, but studying lists of data and making predictions on possible outcomes? The students receive a list of the horses in the race, the morning line odds, purse money won, and post position. We usually start with purse money, since students can usually see the connection, the better horse usually has won the most money. Students list the horses by purse money from greatest to least.

Next,students are given a graph or data table that shows how often, historically, a horse wins from a given post position. Using this data, student rank the horses based on their post position.

Students have often heard about odds, but sometimes they don't understand the concept. Using the morning line odds, we create a fraction, and find the percent chance that the experts think that horse has of winning. For example, 3-1 odds would mean that the horse would have 3 chances of losing for each chance of winning. The fraction would be the chances of winning divided by the total chances, which is 1/4, or 25%. Students find percentages, and then rank the horses based on odds. I also explain that morning line odds are what the experts think. I often get questions on betting, which I do answer, but point out that betting is only for adults.

After students have ranked the horses in these different ways, then they get a chance to predict the order of finish for all the horses in the race, in whichever way they choose. I usually offer $100 if anyone gets all the horses listed in the correct order of finish, which usually excites the students beyond belief! Until we do the math! (I have yet had to pay the $100, by the way).

We then work on how to calculate how many different combinations there are for the 1st place finisher, the 1st and 2nd place finishers (exacta), the first 3 places (trifecta), and for all the horses in the race.

Some other options for this unit include measuring in furlongs, rate/time/distance problems, and stride length. This year, I plan on doing stride length. Man-o-War had a stride length of 28 feet, Secretariat's stride was 24 feet. One activity is for students to measure the stride length and mark it with tape. Then students can walk the distance to find out how many strides they take to walk 28 feet. An alternative would be to measure their own stride. The Preakness is 1 3/16 of a mile, so I have students convert the distance to feet, and then determine how many strides each horse would need to complete the race. They can also do this calculation based on their stride length.

For more information on horse-related activities in the Math classroom, check out http://www.ket.org/scalecity/kentuckyhorsepark.html

Another Grandparent's Day

I have to admit, I love grandparent's day. Yes, it's a dog and pony show, it's crowded, it's hot, and you can't really do a lesson. But for some reason, I love it.

I use this day to let the students show off their talents, and awe their grandparents. So this year, my 8th grade students were explaining our Stormwater unit. The students did an awesome job, describing the issue, our driving question, the brainstorming process, the data we have collected, and the tools we've been using. I didn't give the students a heads-up that this was happening, and their answers were very thought-out and informative.

Then came the technology demonstration. I showed the students and grandparents some presentations from high school students http://prezi.com/ov4ijwediv1e/elastic-and-inelastic-collisons-by-alex-krasne/ so that they could see an example of what their final projects might look like. I also gave a demonstration on Google Earth. The students were fully engaged, but the grandparents had mixed reactions.

I often try to imagine what people are thinking, by looking at their faces and body language. (Okay, I admit that I do this with more than people, like animals at the zoo or fish at the aquarium). I can create complete conversations in these situations that do not actually take place, and probably are very far from what is actually going on (especially with the animals!) My pretend conversations were in full force today!

There were some grandparents who I would imagine were thinking that we are comletely off our rockers. They didn't learn this way, why are we doing all of these crazy things? Seriously, bowling, car crashes, techno music? Is this what my grandchild is learning about?!

Then there were the grandparents who were in awe. They loved the creativity, the math-science connection, and technology. As many of the students do, the grandparents wanted to put in their address in Google Earth to find their house. We took a trip to the Eiffel Tower. I even had a granparent who needed directions to somewhere she was going this weekend, so we did a tour. Several asked where they could download it!

So all in all, it was another amazing grandparents day. Next year, students will be presenting their own STEM presentations. And maybe some grandparents will join in the fun!

What I Want for Mother's Day

I want...
my boys to be healthy and happy. Of course, I want that every day, too.

my family to be near me.

good weather. We love to be outside!

my scale to have a 4 in the ten's place.

to be a good role model that what's inside, your heart and brain, is much more important than what's outside.

to tell the important people in my life what they mean to me.