A Teacher's Ruminations

For some people, working out comes easy. They decide on a time in the day that they're going to exercise. They decide how many days a week they're going to go running, jogging, swimming or to the gym. And, they pretty much stick to their schedule. They don't let excuses get in the way. They jump in without looking back. And they follow the same routine, or close to it, several times a week. I'm not that organized. And, maybe you aren't either. First, I need to find the right gym. That may take up to a year or more. (Well, that's how long it took me after moving from Canada to Ecuador.) Then, I have to psyche myself up to go to the gym. I can't just walk in anywhere and start exercising. There have to be classes set up and hours that work for me. But, once I make up my mind, pay my gym membership, and go to the first class, I'm off and running. Of course, some of you are thinking that you don't need a gym to exercise. You can just wa...

           "He's just bored, " she said.             "No. I don't accept that. In this class, he has lots of opportunities to challenge himself," I responded.  Although seemingly calm when I said this, I was seething inside. This is what I was really thinking: "Not in my class."        "Maybe he needs a nudge. Some kids need that, you know," she countered.       "Maybe," I responded.  This is what I was really thinking: "Maybe that would be true if he were in the class down the hall where all they do is worksheets day in and day out. But not in my class."        Then, as I'm wont to do, I started to doubt myself.        I sat down with Todd (not his real name) to talk about his math work. I wanted to get a better sense of how he thought about this particular problem since his thinking wasn't clearly evidenced in the explanation ...