A happy, happy place to learn math...
[Here it is mid-April and I JUST realized that I did not update this intro blurb at the start of the year! PATHETIC!! I'll try to do better next year...]
Here we go again! Twenty years of teaching done and - incredibly - I will start my tenth year of teaching at KG this year!
I'm so thankful to have ended up at King George. Such a great school! Perfect size! Good teachers. Awesome kids! Yes, it has it's challenges (like all the pencils I lend out and never get back) but there is no other school that I would want to be at.
Mind you, I enter this year with a great deal of sadness. So many wonderful colleagues will not be back this year: Modder, O'Gorman, Esnault, Sidhu, Habibian, Gray, Lo, Breden, Wang... and more!
I'm sure there will be amazing teachers to take their places, but I will still miss them all dearly. And I know many of you will too!
Here are my goals for this year:
Feeling lazy so the rest of this intro is the same as last year. SORRY but it's some pretty inspired writing. Enjoy it again!
Hopefully, you will find the videos just as helpful this year. But remember, in spite of all the stellar content on this site, the key to your success in Math class this year is… YOU!
Your recipe for success in math class is - SURPRISE! - the same as the recipe for success in all areas of your life. And good news! It's only a two-step process (soooo easy to remember)!!!
I'm not saying that it will always be easy, but your plan for success in Math class is THAT simple.
Understand?
Here we go again! Twenty years of teaching done and - incredibly - I will start my tenth year of teaching at KG this year!
I'm so thankful to have ended up at King George. Such a great school! Perfect size! Good teachers. Awesome kids! Yes, it has it's challenges (like all the pencils I lend out and never get back) but there is no other school that I would want to be at.
Mind you, I enter this year with a great deal of sadness. So many wonderful colleagues will not be back this year: Modder, O'Gorman, Esnault, Sidhu, Habibian, Gray, Lo, Breden, Wang... and more!
I'm sure there will be amazing teachers to take their places, but I will still miss them all dearly. And I know many of you will too!
Here are my goals for this year:
- teach Math 10 using MYP completely. I'm looking forward to coming up with some interesting assessment projects for this class (so happy to be teaching these grade 10 students again. Love them all!!)
- complete videos for my Calculus 12 class so that Flip classroom is possible (so happy to have more than one day to prepare for Calculus this year)
- get to know and have fun with my Pre-Calculus 11 classes (so happy to be teaching these students finally)
- emphasize estimating as a valuable, "real-life" skill in all my classes (I failed spectacularly at this last year)
- laugh lots and be kind (always)
Feeling lazy so the rest of this intro is the same as last year. SORRY but it's some pretty inspired writing. Enjoy it again!
Hopefully, you will find the videos just as helpful this year. But remember, in spite of all the stellar content on this site, the key to your success in Math class this year is… YOU!
Your recipe for success in math class is - SURPRISE! - the same as the recipe for success in all areas of your life. And good news! It's only a two-step process (soooo easy to remember)!!!
- Work hard / try. Incredible how this step seems to improve your chances for success! Who would have guessed?! Basically, I am asking you to do your homework (and do it on time). In fact, if you work hard IN class, you may have very little homework at all! And we all know what less homework means: more time for our amazing bottle-cap collections!!
- Be responsible. Although it may seem like it is my fault (or your parent's, friend's, gerbil's, etc.) that you are failing math / falling behind on your homework / having no success in your love-life, you will have a lot more power in your life if you take responsibility for what is going on in it. You will move from the passive / helpless / victim world to the "at-cause" / "in-charge" / "taking-action" realm. This is a lovely place to reside! So... when you are having difficulties in Math, get assistance as soon as possible!! "Assistance" might mean asking a friend, re-watching a video, using the forum, or even asking ME! Although I may look like a snooty world-class fashion model I am actually very approachable (a very approachable dork, in fact). Come and talk to me about your concerns / ideas / complaints and we can work together to figure something out.
I'm not saying that it will always be easy, but your plan for success in Math class is THAT simple.
Understand?
