So I’m rearranging all my blogs. Just call it step 472 in my new years resolution organization to-do list. Argh. But I’m going to bring my stuff in from my other blog, and since I’m hosting this one, I don’t have to deal with rules. Because sometimes rules are lame. But don’t tell your mom I said so. You still have to listen to her.
We had an interesting debate in my “Tools for Thought” class last week. We all took sides on the following question:
Should kids have to memorize multiplication tables in school?
Sounds like a simple enough question. Who likes studying to memorize? Not me. In fact, back in my own elementary school years I really didn’t like numbers or math or anything having to do with either. (By the way, I’ve changed my mind since then…)
But the question isn’t really so simple.
Here’s what the question is NOT:
~Do kids like memorizing multiplication tables?
~Should teachers make kids study things they don’t care about?
~Is math important?
That’s not what the first question is asking. When we wonder about memorizing multiplication tables, we’re really thinking about something else.
We’re going to agree (and if you don’t, then pretend you do) that math is important, and knowing how to multiply is important. But when you memorize multiplication tables, are you actually doing math in your head? Or are you just remembering numbers?
If I ask you what 2×3 is, you might tell me 6 pretty quickly. But did you actually DO the math? Did you think about two groupings of three items and figure out that the total is six? Or did you simply remember that 2×3 is 6?
When you’re a grown up, there are many times when you’re going to need to do math in your head. Often, quicker is better. And don’t get me wrong, I love calculators a lot. But you’re not always going to have a calculator in your hand.
What do YOU think?
Do you think having the ability to remember simple math quickly without actually solving problems in your head is important? Or do you think it’s more important to be able to spend your time learning how math works, instead of memorizing times tables?
I don’t have an answer to this. I think I could argue both sides pretty easily. But I’m super curious to know what YOU think about this. Especially if you’re under 16 years old….
Disclaimer:
Sorry, but as teachers, sometimes we really DO know what’s best for you. And sometimes that includes learning about things that you think you don’t like. Hopefully you have good teachers that help you connect the things you learn in school with things that are interesting to you. Oh, and math IS important.
When you think of doing research, you might automatically think of scientists doing experiments, or getting information from a lot of different places to write a paper. But did you know that there are really ALL KINDS of research? People do research by studying nature and the world around us, as well as studying people everywhere, and how they think and act.
Today I learned about a kind of research called PHENOMENOLOGY. Yeah, super long word. No fear! It’s not as scary as it might look! If you don’t know how to pronounce it here’s the tricks:
1. Watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwYFFEf_ohc
2. Think of that song while you say the word… except it starts with an “f” sound and ends with “ology” (as in biOLOGY)
Now what IS phenomenology you may ask, as well you should?
Think about a box with a ribbon around it. When you see it you might start thinking of all sorts of things, like Christmas, holidays, birthdays, gifts that you’ve given to people or gifts that you’ve received. You might even start remembering what you’ve learned about different cultures that celebrate different kinds of holidays.
That’s natural for you to think of all that stuff. You’re a thinking and experiencing sort of a being.
BUT
There’s a way of studying things called PHENOMENOLOGY.
Phenomenology doesn’t really care about all the other stuff that you brought in your head when you were thinking about the box with the ribbon. Phenomenology just cares about the box itself.
By thinking about the box without thinking of everything else you know and understand about it, you might come to a NEW and DEEPER understanding of boxes with ribbons on them.
So ask yourself these questions:
1. What kinds of research are you used to doing?
2. What kinds of things are you already thinking about when you study something? How have your own experiences affected the way you study something?
3. Can you say phenomenology five times fast?