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From the Mouths of Babes…

Since I am on holiday, I have time to sit down and really read the blog posts of our students at Anastasis Academy…all 500 of them!  I am so proud of what our students do and the ways that their teachers challenge them to think and reflect.  As I was reading, I kept sending out tweets with links to the posts…I forgot that to read an Edu 2.0 blog post, you have to be registered on Edu 2.0.  Oops!  I thought I would share some favorites here.  None of them have been re-touched or edited. These are from an intermediate class who started with the prompt: “I used to believe, now I know.” Post 1 I used to think the traditional way of school was the only, iPads are a new way to learn.and best way to learn. Now I think using IPads, sitting around the room, and being creative is a great way to take advantage of the generations advanced technology. Are homework, tests, and grades the correct way to teach a student? Are discipline, punishment, and un-creativity a way to rotten the brain into what people now call an adult? Then it’s probably time to get a new perspective. The traditional way isn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but trying something new is always good. Instead of my teachers asking me the correct time to start and finish something. They let me be creative and dig deeper into the subject. Also, the teachers allow me to watch videos that spark my imagination. Free writing is also a great way for me to get my creative juices flowing. I love writing, always have, always will. That’s why I love being able to put my best ideas on paper and watch a story come to life right in front of my eyes. I think that’s what other kids love too but are too afraid to speak up. Plus, students are afraid that they are going to get a bad grade. “Learning abuse” is what I like to call it. Every kid, even I, have experienced learning abuse. It’s when children receive a big fat F slashed across their paper, or get a “No, that’s not what you’re GO TEAM ANASTASISsupposed to do!” glare from their teachers. I’ve learned that if we change the boring way of school into a creative school, fewer children would die of learning abuse. Laying around the room helps me learn, and it does with everyone in my class. So, I think having electronics and creativity is the best and most creative way to learn. I think that ever since I went to Anastasis, my life has changed, hands down. Thank you for the new way of learning!   Post 2 I used to think that I was just supposed to remember things I learn in school, now I know that you should be creative with what you know. I know this because when I came to Anastasis, I used what I know to be creative and find out more information, instead of just remembering things I learn in school and checking it off the list. I personally think that creative learning is much better, because you should let your creativeness flow through your imagination instead of being like a robot and learning things so can just remember them and not even care. If you get a job in a factory pressing a button every 2 seconds in one hand and getting paid money in the other hand, how is that using creativity? Being creative is a great quality to have because creativity has no limits. You can use it to be a leader or a other quality. It allows you to make great things that haven’t been done before. It also lets your imagination stretch out and be creative. If you use your creativity during your lifetime it will help you in school, your job, your life at home, and even in other places. God gave you creativity to use everywhere, not just in one certain place or not at all. Use the talents God gave you to worship him.   Post 3 I USED TO THINK, BUT NOW I KNOW… I used to think that just getting the grade was the best for me, but now I know that it’s better to be creative and really know what we’re learning. Sometime in school, we all think… “Oh if I pass this test and get the A+ I will be number 1 in our class. That’s all that matters.” Now I know that the A+ doesn’t matter in the long run, but what really matters is being able to… Explain, Create, Retell, Analyze, and Remember. School isn’t about the teacher telling us the problem, we memorize it, put it down on paper, get the A, than forget about it, you know the process. Instead, we should really discover and really understand the process. Some schools think that the best way is too give you a test, we get the grade then they think we know it all. But we don’t. And we are missing the most important meanings of learning. I did a project at my old school, Cherry Hills. We had to create a cell, and its’ insides. We did this project at home. So my dad ended up doing most of it. I took it into school presented it, and got the A+. Now at this school, we do our own projects AT SCHOOL. We learn to be creative and really understand the concept. It definitely makes more sense to do it by yourself and maybe it won’t look as good as your dad, but thats not the point. The point is actually learning, and being creative.   From the mouths of babes I tell ya!  

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Yummy Math! Best Math Blog EVER

Posted by admin | Posted in Analyze, Apply, Art, Evaluate, inspiration, Knowledge (remember), Math, Middle/High School, Science, Secondary Elementary, Social Studies, Teacher Resources, Understand (describe, explain), Websites | Posted on 18-10-2012

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What it is:  Yummy Math is an absolutely fabulous blog/site dedicated to helping students and teachers understand how math is relevant to the world.  What a great mission!  The blog was started 2 years ago…bummed that I am only JUST discovering it.  Brian Marks and Leslie Lewis are the creators of Yummy Math.  They have worked together to make an easy way for teachers to bring real-world math into the classroom.  Math (like everything else) should be taught within a context.  I believe this is key!  When understood in context, students can make connections to their learning and, as a result, really learn it.  The goal here is to engage students in math so that they yearn to reason, think critically, problem solve, question and communicate…in short: DO math!  Each week, multiple activities and ideas are added to the Yummy Math site.  This means that you are in constant supply of real-world math problems for your students to engage in.

Categories include:

  • Algebra
  • Data and Probability
  • Geometry
  • Number Sense
  • Sports
  • Holidays/annual events
  • Math and Science
  • Math and Food
  • Math and Social Studies
  • Math and Art
  • Movies and Entertainment

How to integrate Yummy Math into the classroom: You know that dry math curriculum that you feel TRAPPED by?  Yummy Math exists to free you (and your students) from the endless memorization and unconnected practice.  This is the perfect supplement to any math program.  Use these activities a few times a week to really get your students thinking outside of the (math) box.  These will stretch your students, and help them grow exponentially in their understanding of math and all of the cool things it makes possible.

These are not your typical “real” world word problems.  None of that, if train a is traveling north at x, and train b is traveling south at y what time will they meet? Garbage.  This is…what is the real cost of owning an iPhone 5?   or  The House of Representatives passed a law in 2007 to increase the efficiency of light bulbs, what is the real energy savings that can be realized with CFL and LED.  Not only relevant, but really interesting!

Tips: You know what is EXTRA helpful?  That Yummy Math has already done all the leg work to tell you which Common Core Standards these project are meeting.  Yes. They are awesome!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using  Yummy Math  in your classroom.

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