Sent to me under the subject "Why I could never be a math teacher"

"then let me know how!"

We recently held exams for the students. Consider the following:

I added a part c, asking (as I have on every single test so far this year) what a "reasonable domain" is for the problem.
The students can demonstrate that they know which variable is the independent variable and that negative numbers are unacceptable when the variable is months (or time in general).
That's all I look for - something that says "t > 0." If I see that or anything close, they get full credit. However, I have some students that add their creativity to the problem and it makes me smile. I thought I'd share with you two of my personal favorites.

"0 < t < 50 because then she gets married."

"0 < t < 700. <- This is 58 years later, so she would probably not live this long. If she did, I'd like to meet her to know how she lived so long and to get some of her money."

The first response is from a Burmese refugee that's only been at the school for one year, I think. The second is from an intelligent freshman who, I'm convinced, needs a special test that actually challenges him. (He also got the extra credit question of defining "defenestrate" by dissecting its Latin (Greek?) origin.)
((It means to throw out a window. It's one of my favorite words.)) (((I like to use it in story problems.)))

advent is the name of that moment.

This December, it has been easy for me to align myself with the mindset of hope and expectation. Maybe it;s from the hope and persistent waiting in all the Old Testament stories that I've been reading, maybe it's the smell of my "a toast to cider" candle, maybe it's the Christmas lights and soft lamps that I see every morning on my way to work... but whatever it is, it has filled me with peace. And hope.

"You are aware of the beating of your heart... The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment." - Frederick Buechner

I held another cooking club after school, and we made reindeer cake balls (thank you, Bakerella!) My kids really enjoyed them and ever got creative. Not shown in the picture are the dog and unicorn balls.

We also made sweet-potato-apple bake and a cinnamon-raisin risotto-like rice. (Easier than risotto because it required no stirring, because we needed all hands on deck for the reindeer.)

My Spanish skills are slightly improving - I happened to understand one full sentence of my students' conversation and they now think I understand everything they say. For the most part, that's a good thing. Now they have to censor themselves in Spanish and English.

What else have I been learning? It's hard to love people sometimes. (Or some people all the time.) I have an implicit checklist of who I have more patience and love for... and that is not the kind of love that God calls us to give. I was reading a friend's blog and came across the following - it voices what I've been all-too-happy to not let myself think about.

I let go of my right...
-To be happy -To have an attractive body -To health
-To my possessions -To my time -To comfort
-To my past -To my recreation or activity -To my habits
-To wealth -To my future plans and dreams -To self-sufficiency
-To control-To have consequences follow what I've done -To my satisfaction
-To my significance -To my securities -To prosper
-To strength-To know future outcomes
-To my old ways of getting my needs met
-To getting my way -To my reputation -To success
-To notoriety-To my feelings -To my choices
-To my occupation -To be loved -To know God's will
-To demand anything from God -To life itself -To be used by God
-To escape bad circumstances -To fear -To my opinions
-To my judgments -To my timing -To judge
-To emotional security -To my expectations -To be accepted
-To pleasant circumstances -To be understood -To be married
-To my geographical location -To be thanked or appreciated
-To be acknowledged -To have relationships
-To have a child-To have a happy marriage
-To blame -To be rescued-To tell others what I know
-To rescue another -To be heard-To be needed or wanted
-To meet others' needs -To be right-To have others' approval
-To good finances -To take offense-To have justice done
-To defend -To my entitlements -To be justified

quotable quotes

Boy: "Did you have a hard day yesterday?"
Me: "Yes, actually. How can you tell? Do I look that bad?"
Boy: "Oh, it's just your hair. You have fly-aways everywhere!"
Me: "...Oh. Well that's not a result of my hard day. That's just because I didn't shower."

Things are going well. I'm still myself up here, and I can prove that with the above statement and because I am currently listening to Christmas music. There's a church in Louisville that has amazing albums and music, and I found a free sampler of their Christmas album on noisetrade.com.

Feel like learning?
Have you ever heard of Baby Can Read? Don't do it.

I've taught that at OSU - that not only is there no benefit to watching television, there may actually be negative effects. A recent position statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics confirms this belief from a compilation of studies. (See the link here.) There are no benefits to placing children younger than two in front of a television, even for background noise. It is not just that there are no effects - there are actually negative effects of television watching.
Yes, I can write this convincingly because I don't have to care for any children under two. I'm sure I will be plenty tempted to plop them down in front of the tv... so you can hold me accountable to that. Maybe, when I grow up, I can live on a farm in the 1800s and not have to worry about it?

On more serious notes, I am interested in your opinions. As a teacher at a Christian high school, to what extent do you think my focus should be content? To what extent should it be relationships? Spiritual development? I am not happy with the percentages that I currently feel like I am doing, but I don't know an ideal. What do you all think? Would it change if I were teaching a different age? Subject? Public school?

she's back. and she's wearing a viking hat.

I held an after-school cooking club where we made different types of squash, apple crisp, and used freshly grated parmesan cheese. It was a success! See the empty plates below. I plan to hold a session monthly, so let me know if you have suggestions for winter foods that are healthy-ish.

I wore my Viking hat from the Warrior Dash in class last Monday. That was fun. I made up a story problem about Viking boats (also about the number of Viking warriors before and after battles) and said "Hmm, I think we need a visual aid." Then I reached into my "props" drawer, pulled out a Viking hat, and continued teaching. The kids were a little shocked, but I suspect they enjoyed it. I actually heard someone say that it was a pretty good lesson... and I think all that was different was that I kept looking at my shadow in the overhead. And trying to poke people (or not poke people) with my Viking horns.

Squash-apple turnovers: I've been in somewhat of a squash frenzy. I love squashes - all kinds of them. To your left, you see a squash-apple turnover. Did you know you can cook apples like this? I suppose you probably did, because apples turn into applesauce. But they don't have to get mushy - you can saute them. With butternut squash. And then add some other stuffs, wrap them in crescent roll dough, and call it lunch?



Since I happened to have dough... I made some peanut-butter-smores turnovers as well.

 They were tasty too. Although marshmallow creme is a better option than marshmallows, because actual marshmallows kind of just dissolve. By kind of, I mean they really do.

Thanks for checking in. I hope to write something meaningful someday soon - it's there, inside me. I think.

YOU could be writing equations in a snap!

Has this ever happened to you? You have to multiply the same thing by itself over and over. So you write it out and your hand cramps because it’s so much writing. Introducing exponents! The simpler way to write equations involving things multiplied over and over. Turn 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 12 x 12 x 12 into 4⁵ x 12³ in a snap! Call 1-800-expo-now and pay 3 easy payments (and 1 difficult) payments of 9.99 (plus shipping and handling), and YOU could be writing equations in a snap!

- by a pre-calc student; his infomercial for exponents in his warmup journal. 

Teaching is going well so far - I have spent a lot of time at the school, but I have been excited to wake up and get out of bed every day. No biting (yet). Last week was the first full week of school but I feel like I've been around for a while already. 

Grand Rapids is really nice too - I've found a couple different groups to run with and just today met a runner about my pace who lives very close, so we may try to run together outside of 'official run times' too. I had friends in town last weekend too, so we went to Grand Haven and rode bicycles, then to an apple orchard. I love fall and have been making applesauce every couple days. Tomorrow, it will be soup! Probably Carrot Ginger Coconut soup because I have fresh left over ginger and don't know what to do with it. Also, I have all the ingredients. Maybe some cornbread to go with it?

This week will be another 5 day week of school, but on Thursday, I will be escorting my freshmen advisory group (about 17 freshmen) off campus for a retreat. I have plans to watch a volleyball game for Potter's House, plans to run, and now that I have some free time on weekends - picking out some new books to read over the weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions? I started reading John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life but also want something a little more... brainless.

This was a very factual entry. My apologies! I will soon attempt a cleverly written expose on some cleverly-chosen topic... but it will probably come out as an ode to cornbread made in my cast-iron skillet in rhyming couplets. I might spare you, if that's the case!

a grand week in grand rapids

I'm, like, official!

Before I moved, I ate brunch with some friends and their beautiful children. I ate ate other meals and met with more friends too... but I didn't take pictures of the food. I made a hashbrown quiche dish from More with Less that I thought was delicious. You could take any quiche recipe (I used eggs, evaporated milk, zucchini, ground meat, grated yellow squash, and grated cheese) and give it a hashbrown crust.
1. Grate/ shred raw potatoes and press them down into a well-greased pan - or into muffin cups... but still grease them really well!

 2. Bake the potatoes at 425 for 15-17 minutes or until crispy brown. Remove the pan from the oven.
3. Have the quiche ingredients pre-mixed, unless there was something you wanted on top only - like fresh basil or rosemary - and then bake it. Muffins were done by 15 minutes for me, the cast-iron skillet took 30-35.

 You didn't think I would make something without my cast-iron skillet, did you?

I moved and set my feet down! I am so excited to be teaching at the school where I am at. I have felt nothing but affirmed in my decision by the way God has worked everything out. You can pray for me to be confident around the students and around the teachers/ staff. I believe that my passions and enthusiasm will serve the school and the students well, and I will need God to work through me so that others can see it too.
This week, we had three days of professional development and I set up my classroom. Students start Tuesday. I will be teaching one section of geometry, two of Algebra II, and one of Precalculus. There is one other math teacher at the school. He'll be very helpful, as he's been teaching at the school since one semester into the beginning (12 years or so).

The above bulletin board is for student work. Not because it's silly, but because it's intelligent. Although, knowing me... the assignments might be a little silly. (Miss Wolfe, why are we reading "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"?) I do need an idea for a hall pass - something that can't make noise or be thrown/ bounced/etc. I was thinking my OSU pennant, but I don't really want that going into the bathroom with the students. The other math teacher uses a giant protractor. I had a teacher in high school who used a box fan for a hall pass - I thought that was hilarious, but I don't think I can really do that. 

This is the side/ back of my room - a thank you from my preschoolers/ preschool classroom teachers, books, maps of who we're praying for, and the drawers are full of papers/ binders/ crafty-things.

I am ready to start! I've met some students who have come to the school for volleyball practice, and I met some parents at a soccer game Thursday night. I feel very welcomed.

An excerpt from a beautiful song at church today that I hadn't heard or don't remember:

"Come, ye weary, heavy laden/
Lost and ruined by the fall/
If you tarry till you're better/
You will never come at all.

Let not conscience make you linger/
Nor of fitness fondly dream/
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him."
 - come ye sinners (ten thousand charms)