Post B4WIwHV4xYkWIDeabg by paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange
(DIR) More posts by paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange
(DIR) Post #B4Vuel3hvQfhr2xipE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-22T11:12:16Z
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I teach both middle school "technology" (think shop class mixed with Computer Science) and I later teach the same students in geometry and calculus in high school. This means when I first work with students there are no grades, just an opportunity to be creative and learn how to use tools and programming to make things. This creates an amazing foundation for our work in academics later. I wonder if it could be a model for improving math education we could expand?
(DIR) Post #B4VurU9g5HG1C2p8Ai by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-22T11:14:35Z
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When I only work with students in a context where I'm giving a grade, and that grade is "high stakes" because colleges care about math grades the students are less likely to bring their full creative potential to the subject of math. Grad grubbing happens. But when they know me from working on a project first, where the feedback is narrative, where they help set the goals they are just more open to really learning the material, just just "getting through it"
(DIR) Post #B4Vv8oUjiOFpCMw76W by lienrag@mastodon.tedomum.net
2026-03-22T11:13:36Z
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@futurebird You're aware of Freinet's work about non-authoritarian evaluation, right ?
(DIR) Post #B4Vv8pq2ietLMjudxA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-22T11:17:40Z
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@lienrag Yes! those ideas always seemed so pi in the sky to me though when I'd try to apply them to math class where there are standardized tests and check lists that must be met. But what if it were more typical to have a teacher who works across grades like I do? I was at a little conference for HS calculus teachers recently and I was the only one who taught another subject or younger grades. In too many schools the calculus teacher isn't ever assigned to lower grades.
(DIR) Post #B4VvGHuGlEmiRdRXgO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-22T11:18:58Z
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@cpkimber What doesn't work as well for students?
(DIR) Post #B4VvYHgiJR36ylgTUe by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-22T11:22:16Z
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Also when schools gut their arts programs, when they get rid of things like shop class and PE it's really harmful. It's harmful even if all you care about is students learning "the basics" eg. how to read and write, how to understand numbers and a smattering of history. Young people can't understand those things as well when they simply have less experience in everything.
(DIR) Post #B4VwEtoAyKqfMzUjvU by emilianosandri@mastodon.bsd.cafe
2026-03-22T11:29:57Z
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@futurebird Since I was very young I used to love math and computers and showed a precocious attitude to both.Sadly in upper grades my interest in math was soured by grades, European system is much less competitive than US system but a bad grade still brought lots of drama at home and this made me develop anxiety towards math. Equations triggered a flight or fight response in me that ironically suppressed my ability for the higher level thinking essential for learning math. This vicious cycle continued for the whole high school and only now I’m recovering a true passion for math.On the other hand I was always able to study and practice programming in a very low pressure environment. For most it was just me and the computer and mistakes just meant I had to find another way to write my code, they didn’t caused family drama. This drew me to programming more and more until I was able to make a job out of it.
(DIR) Post #B4W6ehD3R4DpMm4T0i by geonz@mathstodon.xyz
2026-03-22T13:26:33Z
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@futurebird OH, we should share and figure this out and try it in more places. Now, individual who who can do both is going to be rare but perhaps a collaboration? So the calc teacher works w/ the middle school project person and vice versa???
(DIR) Post #B4WCL120d0i2mAu5VA by swope@mstdn.plus
2026-03-22T14:30:21Z
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@futurebirdI had a similar thought when I mentored robotics for highschoolers who I had mentored in FLL in elementary school, with a gap in the middle for a pandemic. Obviously not to the depth of your involvement.Here in California the K-8 districts are different organizations than the high school districts, so it would be hard for teachers to have that span.
(DIR) Post #B4WEvc5UX0lo2M6xo8 by burnitdown@beige.party
2026-03-22T14:59:20Z
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@futurebird i think that without any doubt. i struggled with math all the way through school, rarely seeing the application and being denied every time anyone asked "what will we use this for?", and the classes to learn that were cut back or didn't exist anymore. there was a room with engine lathes in my high school and no one could use them cause they never found a replacement for the teacher who taught those courses, who died the year before my ninth grade. things would have been very different if i had that opportunity.
(DIR) Post #B4WIwHV4xYkWIDeabg by paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange
2026-03-22T15:44:20Z
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@futurebird schools should be preparing kids for real life and teaching critical thinking skills. things like math & science will be a necessary part but so are "soft" and vocational skills. that means art, music, shop too. if we expect 18 yr olds to be mostly like adults, they'll need all of this.
(DIR) Post #B4WJEgMhFf0ScdVVS4 by resl@mas.to
2026-03-22T15:47:39Z
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@futurebird It could be a model for an entirely new set of economic policies 😁
(DIR) Post #B4WPMBVmRnnCyPiUkq by carapace@mastodon.social
2026-03-22T16:56:14Z
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@futurebird There's a bit in "The Real Computer Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet" http://www.vpri.org/pdf/m2007007a_revolution.pdf in the section titled "Children Discover, Measure, and Mathematically Model Galilean Gravity" that might be interesting.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Paperthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(philosophy_of_education)
(DIR) Post #B4WQSdbB27otm8sjNg by deborahh@cosocial.ca
2026-03-22T17:08:34Z
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@futurebird @chu it strikes me that those are classes with *embodiment*, which is devalued by the broligarchy ...But it's so important to growing up sane.
(DIR) Post #B4WRCrzjqCOTkGPoZ6 by Npars01@mstdn.social
2026-03-22T17:16:58Z
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@futurebird Best math teacher I ever had was when he prefaced each lesson with a historical background on what real world problem math was designed to solve.These parables and stories still stick with me now.The "narrative & solution" combo is a really effective technique. Oddly enough, it's also why Republican propaganda is so pernicious. They'll stick a lie or a false narrative in front of a concluding "Fascism is the Solution!" and it becomes "sticky" in people's minds.
(DIR) Post #B4WTFvLO2r5OuS7pPU by StumpyTheMutt@social.linux.pizza
2026-03-22T17:39:55Z
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@futurebird It's really helpful to have a solid answer ready for the inevitable "when am I ever going to use this" questions.
(DIR) Post #B4WX8BbO76pOpiAwQy by CStamp@mastodon.social
2026-03-22T18:23:20Z
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@futurebird I went to a lot of different schools, with different budgets for extras. I always hated gym, got absolutely nothing out of it, so dropped it as soon as it was optional. Shop class was for boys. It was mandatory for 1 year, with home-ec for the girls, and I opted out as soon as I could. But I always had an art class in younger grades, and really appreciated my grade 7 school, in which teachers thought music so important, we had music class with sticks and triangles.
(DIR) Post #B4WXew8YdJYEQRJ5yC by c_merriweather@social.linux.pizza
2026-03-22T18:29:14Z
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@futurebird One of my 6th grade geometry lesson series involved creating 3D paper shapes (cubes, etc.) using basic drawing tools. It was actually fun, and I still remember how to do it.Interestingly enough, medieval architects used the same, simple tools to design the great cathedrals.
(DIR) Post #B4WisALMDxQrkKnxFw by level98@mastodon.social
2026-03-22T20:34:54Z
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@futurebird I spend a significant amount of effort subverting the importance of grades and trying to turn the courses (physics and maths) into a more "narrative based" experience. E.g. the students mark each other's homework. Left your homework at home, or didn't finish because school is just so busy? Then mark it yourself and email me the mark. I have far less students miss homework deadlines than I ever used to.
(DIR) Post #B4Y7YGPUeOmimZJ1cm by scribblesonnapkins@mastodon.social
2026-03-23T12:46:06Z
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@futurebird I beg to differ. Not having PE would have benefited my mental health.