Why this blog?

 

 

I moved to Brooklyn almost exactly 21 years ago to get my Masters in Education paid for and start teaching high school mathematics in New York City.  Since then, everything about my life has changed.  For the purposes of this blog, however, there are two main important changes: 1) I helped raise my stepson, had my daughter, and have taught and tutored -- so I've been talking with kids and 2) By working with schools as a teacher, a coach of teachers, a tutor, a parent, and the head of a tutoring organization, I've learned a whole lot about how schools teach math.

Today, I was in a little coffee shop in Red Hook, tutoring a student in geometry.  After I finished, the student left and I went to throw out my coffee cup.  I heard a voice behind me and discovered an old friend with whom I taught about a decade earlier.  We got into a conversation about our kids and she asked me a question: "My son is really into math, but his dad and I aren't very mathy -- how do I figure out what to do next with him?"  I have gotten versions of this question from friends for years: "What's a good book for a kid who really likes math?"  "How do I make sure my child stays excited about learning math?" and "My child is bored by math in school but likes playing with numbers outside of school -- how do I build on that?"

My dear friend D----- got me thinking.  I'm headed back into the classroom in the Fall, and I'm over the moon about getting to focus on kids learning math again.  This is the first time, however, that I've been a classroom teacher every day alongside the daily pressures of raising a child.  I'm really interested in how parents contribute to their kids' education.  Specifically, I'm interested in ways we get kids motivated and engaged and learning.  Sometimes this leads to formal academic success, but I don't care as much about that part.  My daughter and I talk math frequently, and we both walk away having learned something almost every time (AND IT'S FUN).

So I'd like for this blog to be a place where I keep track of ideas for how to build on what our children are learning in school.  Parenting is hard, and none of us have all the answers -- so I'd like to make this blog a place where we can ask questions / share ideas about how to keep kids learning interesting things and being excited about stretching their brains.  I'm going to try to post ideas/questions/experiences at least once a week.  And if you're following along and have specific questions or ideas, I'm happy to address those.