Love of Animals

Tweet I've been watching the 2010 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and thinking about all the students I had in class who loved animals. Everyone of them wanted to be a veterinarian when they grew up.

Unfortunately, so many of them had poor math skills. That, however, didn't seem to phase them. I guess they assumed that their love of animals would be enough to see them through. No matter how many teachers and counselors told them that they needed to improve their grades and take the tough math and science classes, these students just didn't get it. Of course, when they graduated from high school, they found that their teachers and counselors were right after all. Many were disappointed. A few got it together, did what needed to be done, and actually went on to achieve their dreams.

But for those students whose math and science abilities were not up to par, and who didn't want to do what it takes to improve, there are still many careers where a love a of animals is a requirement.

As I was watching the dog show, I thought about all the people involved in such a pageant. There are breeders, groomers, trainers, judges, presenters, promoters, and many more. It seems to me that any student with a great love of animals should be able to find a career in this field. Not everyone who loves animals needs to be, or should be, a vet. There are hundreds of other career choices. Students just need to do a little research.

Students should also remember that there are millions of animals that end up in shelters each year. Helping these animals can also become a career.

I, however, right now, am still trying to figure out how the Bichon Frise, the Schipperke, the Bulldog, and the Dalmatian can all be in the same group. How can a judge possibly choose? But that's just me needing to learn more.

National Puzzle Day is January 29

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Get ready for National Puzzle Day on Friday, January 29. What can you do? Here a few suggestions:

1. Language Arts ~ English, literature, and foreign language teachers can use crosswords, anagrams, or word searches of current vocabulary or spelling words.

2. Math ~ Math teachers can develop number crosswords, sudoku (use colors instead of numbers for small children), or logic puzzles to reinforce skills.

3. Science ~ Science teachers can have students solve cryptograms or ciphers using the scientific method.

4. Social Studies ~ Social studies teachers can turn maps into jigsaw puzzles.

5. Co-Workers ~ Invite your co-workers or fellow students to a New York Times crossword challenge.

6. Family ~ Plan a family puzzle night. Enjoy a jigsaw puzzle or Scrabble or a Rubik's Cube.

7. Read a book like "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown. It's full of puzzles as part of the plot.

8. Here's a sudoku puzzle to get you ready for the day!

Two Stories About Religion and Public Schools

Tweet I want to relate two stories today, one that happened to a fellow teacher and one that happened to me.

The first story starts with me working in the teacher's lounge. One of the Spanish teachers walked in and we could all tell she was upset about something. It seems that the previous day she had been teaching a lesson where the word "ojala" was on the vocabulary list. She said she had explained to the students that the word meant "I hope" or "hopefully." She had also explained that, while the roots of most Spanish words come from Latin, this word came from an Arabic word meaning "Oh, Allah." That next morning, one of the students in the class, a fundamentalist Christian, came to her and said that she and her mother had discussed the word "ojala." They had decided that she shouldn't use that word because of its origins and because they didn't believe in Allah. The teacher was a little shaken and asking for advice. We told her to try to explain that the word didn't have anything to do with Allah. We also told her to tell them that many words have origins completely unrelated to what the word currently means. Even the word "Amen" might possibly have come from the Egyptian god Amen-Ra.

The second story has to do with a worksheet I had given the students. It was a puzzle worksheet where they solved some math problems and, once solved, they were able to answer a question that was the title of the worksheet. I don't remember exactly what the title of the worksheet was, but it was a historical question, something about Pericles. The worksheet told a little story about his life from 495 B.C. to 429 B.C., then there were math questions to solve. The correct answer matched with a letter and the letters solved the puzzle and answered the historical question. Anyway, one of the students asked me what B.C. meant. I told him that it was a way to measure time and referred to "before Christ." I explained that dates before the birth of Christ were B.C. and after were A.D. When he looked up at me, I knew there was trouble. He told me that he couldn't do the worksheet because it was about Christ and he didn't believe in Christ. I tried to explain that the worksheet was about Pericles and practicing some math problems, that it had nothing to do with Christ. There was no convincing him. He actually tore up the worksheet. If had known beforehand that I would get this kind of reaction, I would have told him that it was short for B.C.E. and meant "before the common era." Unfortunately, that thought never occurred to me until afterwards. The strange part of this story is that the next day the school had its holiday assembly and this young man was on stage with the choir singing Christmas carols. Evidently no had told him what the words to those songs meant.

I relate these stories because there is so much misunderstanding when it comes to religion. Students need to know that saying a word like "ojala" does not mean that you are praying to Allah. They need to know that when you use a term like B.C., you are not advocating Christianity. Such ignorance only intensifies bitter feelings between different religions and those who choose not to accept religion. While I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state, I can't help but feel that a course about religion, one that compares and contrasts a variety of beliefs, might be of benefit to many. Perhaps it would curb some of the prejudices and give a deeper appreciation and tolerance of many faiths. However, I am sure there are parents who do not want their children learning about any religion other than their own. And I believe no good can ever come from a fear of knowledge.

Six Courses Every Student Should Take

Tweet The traditional courses in math, science, language arts, and social studies are absolutely necessary for anyone expecting to have a well-rounded education. But there are some other courses that I feel should be required for all students.

1. Typing (keyboarding): At the present time almost all information is entered into a computer or phone through a keyboard of some type. Eventually voice recognition technology may take over, but right now, typing skills are a must.

2. Non-fiction Reading: Most of the reading I do is non-fiction and I don't mean biographies or self-help books. I mean insurance policies, tax code and forms, owners manuals, directions, research articles, investment reports, and so on. These are some of the most prevalent and difficult materials to read and yet they are rarely taught.

3. Mandarin Chinese and Hindi: I know that learning a foreign language is important. When I studied Spanish in high school, it actually helped me in my English classes. I have recently found on Twitter, that I'm able to understand the tweets from people living in South America, Spain, Italy, and France. And this is from studying Spanish 40 years ago. With the people of China and India making up about 38% of the world's population, these are two languages that should be added to the curriculum. The four languages spoken by about 30% of the world's population are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, and Hindi/Urdu. The six official languages of the United Nations are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Arabic, Russian, and French.

4. Research: I believe every student should have to take a research course in high school. I know that research papers are done in other classes, but to me, one course devoted to research makes more sense. First, this would free up time in other classes. Second, all aspects of research could be studied in one course. Students could see how the library (research), mathematics (statistics), science (scientific method and experimental research), reading (gathering information), writing (creating the report), history (gaining previous information on the topic), technology (presentations), and speaking (presentation or defense) are all related to each other. Too often students think of their courses as separate entities, completely unrelated to one another. Research can bring it all together for them. I know that this has been a course previously taken by those working on higher degrees in universities, but I also know students would benefit greatly from having more of it in high school.

5. Finance: So many students graduate with little or no knowledge of the financial world. This course would include consumer skills, investment practice, and economics. Students could study taxes of all kinds, filling out forms, budgeting, working with a financial advisor, etc. Information on entrepreneurship and small business ownership could be included. I know that many schools include this type of information in their business departments, but it should be coursework that every student is required to learn.

6. Physical Education and Health: In some schools these courses have been abandoned or reduced to just a day or two a week. I truly believe students should have a certain amount of physical activity each day. With health, medical, and insurance issues being such a major concern in today's society, student's need knowledge as to how important physical activity and exercise are.

10 Web Sites for Consumer Education

Tweet One of the most important subjects a student can learn is how to be a good consumer. Yet, in many schools this topic is rarely mentioned.

Once in a while, a class might be offered in Consumer Economics, where students learn to balance a checkbook and file their taxes, but this is the exception rather than the rule. A Consumer Mathematics class might offer students an opportunity to learn about amortization, interest rates, investments, and getting the best buy, but again this course is rarely offered, and if it was, it has probably been discontinued because of the emphasis on courses meeting state standards. Students taking business classes generally have an advantage over those who don't, but only a small percentage of students enroll in those courses.

One way to give students a helping hand in this area is for parents and teachers to take advantages of any and all learning opportunities in consumer education. Today is the perfect time to start.

Today is CyberMonday. It is a day started in 2005 by the National Retail Federation to offer online specials and deals for shoppers. In the past, when few people had computers at home, they would shop online when they returned to work after the Thanksgiving break. Today, with many more shoppers having computers at home, over 100 million are expected to shop online, with 90% of the stores offering exceptional bargains.

This is a perfect time to sit at the computer with a child and teach them to shop sensibly and wisely. Show them the best web sites. Show them how to calculate shipping and handling and sales taxes. Yes, the web site will do this for you when you check out, but it still gives parents and teachers a chance to give kids a little bit of extra education, and that can never hurt.

Show students how to comparison shop. Have them calculate the best deals. Have them look at the features of similar items and make a decision as to which is the better buy, keeping in mind that the cheaper item may not be better for you if it doesn't have the features you want. And don't forget to teach about coupon codes and free shipping. Most web sites will give needed information about these, but you may have to search for them.

Some great web sites to start your child's consumer education are:

1. http://www.cybermonday.com/ This web site sponsored by the National Retail Federation keeps track of the best deals online and is updated regularly during the day

2. http://www.priceless.com/us/personal/en/index.html Sponsored by MasterCard, this site gives financial advice and has a gift finder feature.

3. http://www.retailmenot.com/ This web site will help you find coupon codes at over 40,000 stores that can help you save money.

4. http://www.couponsherpa.com/ When you're looking for online or printable coupons, this is a good place to start.

5. http://www.couponmom.com/ Coupon mom is great place to learn how to manage coupons. It also lists grocery coupons for most major grocery store chains. The work is done for you here.

6. http://www.freeshipping.org/ This is a great place to find free shipping coupons to 1854 stores.

7. http://www.dealio.com/ This is the site for online coupon codes, discount coupons and online deals.

8. http://www.pricespider.com/ Pricespider crawls the web for hundreds of thousands of items each hour, then puts up the best deal on their site.

9. http://www.pricegrabber.com/ Pricegrabber allows you to compare prices of items and provides consumer reviews of those products.

10. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm Consumer Reports tests thousands of products, rates them, and gives recommendations.

"I Have A Plan Iowa"

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Most students will have some time off school this week. It's a great time to spend with friends and family and maybe even get in a few extra hours of work.

It might also be a good time to do a little advance planning. There is a website http://www.ihaveaplaniowa.gov/ where you can plan for high school, college, careers, and more.

You need to log in for some of the information, but much of it is accessible without setting up an account. There are separate sections for Middle School, High School, Parents, College, Adult Learners, Job Seekers, Educators, and College Professionals. Much of the information is for Iowa students, but others could benefit as well.

Students can set up four-year plans for high school. They can research careers and discover which classes should be taken to achieve that career. There are planning charts, pdfs, and videos that give information on a variety of topics including grants, scholarships, and financial aid.

For a good video overview, see http://www.ihaveaplaniowa.gov/Home/Videos/Overview.aspx

Fractions ~ 10 Reasons We Need Them

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As a math teacher, I found fractions were a constant source of difficulty for students. However, they are extremely important. Whether adding fractions, changing them to decimals or percents, or finding equivalent fractions, the procedures must be learned. Here are the reasons why:

1. Not everything comes in wholes. The minute you cut something in half, you're dealing with a fraction. They can't be avoided.

2. When you eat half of a sausage pizza and then eat one-fourth of a pepperoni pizza, you've eaten three-fourths of a pizza. You have to add fractions. You need a common denominator.

3. Some decimals are fractions.  Unfortunately, they are not as accurate as fractions. If you share one-third of nine apples, you are sharing three apples. If you try to convert one-third to a decimal you get 0.3333333333... times 9 which will give you 2.999999.... apples. It just doesn't work as well.

4. If half of your pizza is covered with mushrooms and you eat half of that half, you've eaten one-fourth of the whole pizza. That's multiplying fractions (1/2 times 1/2).

5. If you have 6 pizzas and you divide them into three groups, you would have 2 pizzas in each group. That's regular division. But if you have 6 pizzas and you cut each into thirds, then you have 18 parts. That's division with fractions (6 divided by 1/3).

6. All percents are fractions with denominators of 100. Fifty percent is 50/100 which is 1/2. You can't use percents without using fractions.

7. Many of the above calculations can be done with a calculator that has a fraction function. But once you get to algebra, you need to add fractions that have variables. You can't add 2a/3b+4c/5d on a calculator.

8. If one person can paint a room in three hours and a second person can paint the same room in two hours, how long will it take them if they work together. This problem requires an algebraic knowledge of fractions. (It should take 1 hour and 12 minutes if they work together).

9. Reciprocals deal with fractions. In anything dealing with waves (trigonometry, music, light, sound, electricity, radio, microwave, x-rays, etc.) the frequency (Hz or hertz or cycles per second) and the period (time to complete one cycle or seconds per cycle) are reciprocals of each other.

10. Basic arithmetic (this includes fractions) is the foundation of grade school mathematics leading to algebra. Algebra is the foundation of high school mathematics leading to calculus. Calculus is the foundation of all higher level mathematics including topics such as Linear Algebra, Topology, Cryptology, Differential Equations, Function Theory, Number Theory, Chaos Theory, and Probability. These are the courses that lead to careers in Engineering, Medicine, Business, Meteorology, Education, Physics, Actuarial Sciences, and Cryptography, to mention a few. And to think, it all goes back to the simple fraction.

The Case for Challenging High School Math Classes

Tweet In the academic world of mathematics, Algebra 1 is usually considered a 9th grade course. Geometry is usually taken in 10th grade, Algebra 2 is generally for juniors, and PreCalculus (or Trigonometry or Advanced Math or Discrete Math or Statistics or Calculus) is considered a course for high school seniors.

Most state standards now recommend at least three years of high school math. Those three years are, at a minimum, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2. Courses with titles like General Math, Business Math, PreAlgebra, Consumer Math, Career Math, or Applied Math are probably low-level math courses and do not fulfill the state standard.

If a student takes those low-level math classes, they will not be prepared for college. Many students find themselves in college having to take remedial math courses. They do not get college credit for them, but still have to pay college prices for them. Once they get through the remedial courses, they are then ready for College Algebra. How much better it would be for them to take the challenging classes in high school in order to be ready for College Algebra as soon as they enter college.

Students should keep in mind that if they graduate from high school having only taken Algebra 1 as their highest level math course, they really only have the equivalent of a 9th grade education in mathematics. Those taking only PreAlgebra are graduating at the 7th or 8th grade level.

Every student planning to go to college should also take a challenging math course during their senior year. I had some students who were able to take PreCalculus their junior year. Then they chose not to take any math their senior year. Once in college, they made it through College Algebra, but they struggled. Having been away from it for even one year made it difficult for them. Students with fewer mathematical skills, who opt out of math their senior year, will have even more difficulties in college.