Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

(Okay - this is me procrastinating on my research and writing for my doctorate class.....) Let's admit it - most high school/college students have a cell phone and they DON'T put it in their locker during school or leave it in their dorm room.  If my own children are any indication, that cell phone is glued to their body in some way or another so that there can be instant texting at any moment. I myself have become an avid texter in part because I know I will get an immediate response from my daughters. Clearly, cell phones are a problem in school - cheating, inattention - lots of issues.  But I read this article by Audrey Waters  entitled Texting in the Classroom: Not Just a Distraction .  Waters offers some great resources for using cell phones in the classroom as a teaching tool.  There are a couple she lists, but one in particular caught my attention because I know how much 'clicker's' are used in classrooms for polling, review, etc. and I also know how ...

This article I read this morning by Audrey Watters titled " Is Math Education Too Abstract " hit home for me.  Yes...I think math education is too abstract.  I taught math at both middle and high school for over 17 years, and the majority of that time, with struggling students.  I have to admit, I couldn't see the point of teaching how to solve a quadratic equation to a senior in Algebra for the third time who's future plan was to work in his dad's auto shop. What this boy needed was to have math that was relevant - like how to balance a check book, determine what sale price really gives the best deal, or how to make investments - things he was going to actually do in his future.  With this age of testing and the push for 'algebra for all students', I think we have lost sight that not all students need it. I am NOT saying we shouldn't be aiming high and encouraging students to excel in mathematics, but what I think we should stop doing is forcing all...