i love math

i love math
I hope you get it.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Can you name all 52 states?

I usually teach math. However, due to recent budget cuts (I'm not about to rant about the state of education, don't stress) I have had the pleasure of teaching geography as well. Yes, that's correct. GEOGRAPHY.

The last time I took a geography class was in 5th grade. Albeit, I do know a decent amount of geography without the use of google, or an atlas (you know, an atlas, it's like a book of maps), but that does not mean I am qualified to teach geography in any way shape or form, even if it was to 5th graders.

Well, thank god for google, and for an atlas (yes, i recently used an actual atlas). When was the last time a teenager asked you where lake Okeechobee was? Bet you wish you had an atlas right now huh?

This is the last week my geography kids are required to attend class, as long as they complete the requirements (coloring maps, and labeling countries, and it's harder for them than it should be). Because it's the last week, kids that finished coloring got to start the 175 question final, where they GET TO USE THEIR MAPS. . . should I say that again? They get to use their maps. They also get to work together . . .and use their smart phones.

So, you can imagine my enjoyment concern when I read answers like the ones that follow. Keep in mind that the underlined words are actually underlined on the exam. . .

Q: How many STATES are there in the USA, total?

A: 52


Are you kidding me? FIFTY TWO? And don't try to make this a discussion about English language learners either, this kid speaks English, was born in the U.S. and has lived here his entire life.

Q: What sea separates China and Japan?

A: Russia


Reeeeaaalllly? What SEA separates China and Japan? And you said RUSSIA? RUSSIA?
And the best part of this question, because the kids worked together, more than one student said Russia. Russia must be the SEA that separates China and Japan. Duh.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Rules for the Rulers (and gluesticks apparently)

I consider myself pretty hip. Maybe because I just used the word hip means I'm not really hip, but whatever. I am around teenagers all day, and in some respect that keeps me aware of whatever ridiculous trend is trending, and allows me to decide relatively early how stupid I think it is, like if I'm going to start wearing feathers in my hair on a daily basis, rather than just on Halloween.

Now, I have a decent amount of piercings for someone that has a full time career. I have my nose pierced, and my belly button pierced, and a few in each ear, and I wear jewelry in all of them. I remember begging my parents to let me get a second hole in each ear, and I remember also begging to get my cartilage pierced. I got my belly button done when I was 16, because I called my mom from Europe and said "I'm getting my belly button pierced!" and she begged me to wait until I got home so she could take me someplace "clean". I've watched my friends shove safety pins through their belly buttons, stick shared jewelry in their body piercings, and I even pierced my husbands ear in the kitchen of my first apartment before we were even dating.

I guess you can say I am not against, opposed or judgemental of anyone that chooses to get a piercing. But, today I learned I have a limit. I have seen kids stretch their ear lobes so large they will never go back to a traditional earlobe, but again, to each their own. My student teacher last year had very large gauged earrings and the kids called her "the woman with the gauges".

I've seen kids stick their fingers though their earlobes, and pencils are a common item, but today, during my lecture, I turned around and saw a kid with his hand over his ear. At first I thought he was on the phone, so I'm sure a look of shock came over my face, because, lets face it, my kids should know at this point not to be on the phone in class. But then he moved his hand.

Let me preface this next part with some back story. I have bags of supplies on each table. Two kids to a table, two kids to a bag. There are supplies that my kids need on a daily basis in the bags, like rulers, scissors, gluesticks, a calculator and a bag of colored pencils. This saves me the time it takes to pass them out and collect them all. Kids know they are responsible for their table bag. Whenever I tell the kids they need the rulers, I go through the rules:

1. Don't bend the rulers, they'll break.
2. DON'T bend the rulers, they WILL break.
3. Don't put the rulers in your eyes, nose, ears or mouth
4. Don't play the drums, hit yourself or other people

These rules have been developed over the years, because, enough situations arise involving the rulers, that saying them EVERY time we use them is actually a time saving technique. They are pretty straight forward, and I have said them enough times this semester that the kids actually laugh and say them with me now.

So, back to my kid. He moves his hand, and low and behold, he has a gluestick in his earlobe.

A GLUESTICK.

When all I could do was shake my head, the kid next to him looked over and says "Man, that's dope."
I went into the lecture about sanitation, sharing supplies, general grossness, and the fact that I didn't know I needed to include gluesticks in the rules of the rulers. I told him this was the first time I realized maybe there needs to be rules for the gluesticks too. He looked embarassed, said he got the message. He wiped off the gluestick and attempted to put it back in the bag. When I told him he could keep it because there was no way it was going back in the bag he said. .  "Dope."

At this point I'm feeling less hip. Especially because I didn't know we were really saying "dope" again.