Spoon – My Mathematical Mind

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The madness has officially and finally begun. Wednesday was the first day of school, followed conveniently by Day 2, and Day 3, respectively.

This is my 6th year teaching at Johnnie Cochran Middle School and with it, my 3rd time I’m starting an 8th grade year with the same kids as I taught 7th grade last year. As predicted, some of my best from last year are now gone, and some of my most challenging from last year are not only back, but back together in one giant class (ala The Great Escape’s Von Luger boasting about putting “all our rotten eggs in one basket.”). Anyway, it is actually nice to be back and nice to start the teaching process once again, even if teaching math in full won’t begin until this coming week. Currently, we’re working on rules and procedures, which is never very interesting, yet essential for success.

Anyway, aside from teaching my own kids, which has taken up only about 30% of my mental and energy capabilities, our 6th grade math program Kids Mastering Math (KMM) is taking up a disparately large proportion of my time and energy. Don’t get me wrong….I love it, but it’s sure time consuming, but well worth it for the kids that will benefit from it!