I have been on vacation. Phew. Much needed. I was delighted to see two new posts in my feeder,
One from Kate at f(t) and one from Approximately Normal. I missed the Global Math Department meeting because I wasn't aware of it and, well, I was on vacation.

Having read the editable Google Doc from the conversation, I say yes! Yes to where we are at. Some more reflections: are you out there, anyone, anyone?

What constitutes a " newcomer?" I have just finished my first year of MTBoS with 57 posts. Am I still a newcomer? I have been teaching for more than a quarter century and don't know crap about Twitter ( though willing and trying) or Gavatar or Keynote, am I still a newcomer?

I was invited here, so glad to be here, and being here makes my job less lonely, especially when I want to talk shop. I have no expectations or desires for it to go this way or that. Like Andrew, over at Divisible by 3, I am just grateful this is here and I was lucky enough to find it. (Willing it, as Cheesemonkey Wonders so poetically suggests.)

Maybe:
There is no time to talk during the school day.
Maybe:
I am too burnt out to talk about math and teaching during normal people hours and when I am ready to get back to it, no one is awake.
Maybe:
I feel inspired and want to acknowledge those who've inspired me.
Maybe:
There is a question someone has about teaching math that I might be able to lead them to in a helpful direction. ( argh, it is getting late!)
Sometimes:
I can't sleep until I process an event.
Sometimes:
I cook like America's top chef and I want you to know it!

Mostly:
I want to connect with the math "poets." The people who care about people, who are multi- dimensional, not celebs, and are interested in forming genuine relationships around shared values, acceptance, interests, and the common good.

I like the quirky- throw-out-ideas-out-there-research-geek- try-to-do-our-best-for-the-students style going on out here in the MTBoS.

And maybe I blog because I really do want to be a rockstar and make a small difference.

And I am always hopeful by writing I will keep criss crossing my passions along the way.

and leave him some comments.

If you haven't really been privy to the differences between CST and Common Core, Andrew has put together the most illuminating video over at Divisible by 3. It is short and sweet and oh so educational! Should be required viewing by EVERY secondary administrator.

http://mr-stadel.blogspot.com/2013/06/cst-and-sbac-questions.html

Hey Andrew, have you sent this up to UCDMP? I will make sure Josh Dies gets it at SCOE (Sonoma County Office of Ed...he will have good and loads of things to say!)

I just had a job interview at a lovely independent school in Northern California. I have watched this school grow up for 14 or 15 years and have been such a die-hard public school wonk, it took me a long time to have a paradigm shift in order to apply. So I did apply. It was a lovely interview, so different than a public school:

Public school: 11 Questions must be asked in same order to all interviewees
Independent: Wow, so you took a year off from your school to teach at your daughter's school? How was that? What was different about those experiences?

Public school: 10 minute demo lesson to 5 or 6 adults
Independent: 30 minute live lesson with kiddos and the ENTIRE interview committee, plus head of school

Public school: Interview
Independent: Interview with all members of math and science department (one department). 30 minute live lesson, 30 minute meeting with Head of School and Asst. Head of School and Champ (head of school's furry chihuahua)

You know, I just let it rip. I had nothing to lose for being absolutely me. My given topic: Intro to Logic 2.1 to 2.3 McDougal Geometry.

Here is my the lesson:

Find the next three terms in the pattern: 2, 4, 8, ....

I was thrilled! 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64
                       2, 4, 8, 64, 3904, 15,990,784                     Can you figure these out?
                       2, 4, 8, 14, 22, 32                                       Did the adults keep quiet...heck no! They
                                                                                          raised their hands with wild enthusiasm.

Then we played the four letter word game: I am thinking of a 4 letter word...book...2 correct, food, 2 correct...what do you know? Must be the oo...tool...3...pool...2...must be too...took...3...toot? BINGO!
How are these two different! Bingo again! Tha,t my friends, is the difference between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning...blah, blah, blah.

We then wrote our favorite Law of Syllogism sayings from Laura Numeroff's series "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," in if-then form and made them syllogisms and then I had them write them in symbolic form stating, "If P equals If you give a Pig a Pancake," and If "Q equals, She will want some syrup to go with it, " etc...


Oh, did I mention:

Public School: 32 students
Independent:  12 students (In that case, I had five Mouse a Cookie type books by Laura Numeroff...plenty to go around)

They were cutting me off and ripping those intellectually thirsty students out from under my spell!

Anyhoo, I got home from a run the next day,with this This American Life podcast chirping through my earphones. (Episode 464, Act 2). A must for any geek. See, Tig Notaro, keeps bumping into a certain celeb around Los Angeles. She is desperately trying to make a connection to this celeb whom she adores. With the same fan line, Tig goes for it...every.single.encounter. Wish I had had this lesson in my hat...