Watch Your Language
... What you SAY makes all the difference!
There is a certain hurly-burly among educators these days as we all grapple with preparing our students to meet a world with very different parameters than the one of our own childhood. An abundance of current research points to a
pressing need to reform instruction of most subjects, with STEM instruction at the forefront. The search for solutions to deepen mathematical understanding is acute, as research underscores the need to make meaning for our students and... for ourselves.
New standards have been written or revised, new curricula implemented and professional learning redefined - all important chang es. Equally important are those smaller shifts we commit to, as classroom teachers, that make instant and lasting changes in our daily practice. One of those shifts is in the way we make (or break) meaning with the words we use to talk about the math we see. The trouble is... we aren't always aware of the impact of the words we use. After all, math is about numbers, not words... right? Hmmm... let's think about that.
Here's the thing... sometimes, in our quest to 'deliver' understanding to our students, we use bad language; we give them ʻnon-senseʼ rules and terms to memorize, expect them to believe something is true because we say so, and...
believe it or not... even tell lies!
Lies We Tell...
Who... us? I'm afraid so, but who knew? The good news is... we can forgive ourselves, since any one of us can only teach what we know and we were likely taught those words ourselves.
Here are a few very common lies we can stop telling, beginning tomorrow (because weʼll know better).
