tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post8240048907234181999..comments2024-03-21T05:30:03.220-04:00Comments on Science teacher: Get a horse!doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-78055816159694269592010-07-14T15:41:29.367-04:002010-07-14T15:41:29.367-04:00Dear John,
My absolute favorite response ever fro...Dear John,<br /><br />My absolute favorite response ever from a reader was that he grew his own veggies one year because of something I wrote.<br /><br />Your backyard was doomed/blessed to be turned into a hybrid the day you met your future bride--you are truly blessed. But if I helped push it in any way, I'm happy. Children need to see real food. You have very, very lucky children.doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-8119852086392071022010-07-14T00:15:23.320-04:002010-07-14T00:15:23.320-04:00My most recent Pencil Integration blog has a bit o...My most recent Pencil Integration blog has a bit of a Luddite streak in it. A week on a farm will do that to you. <br /><br />Incidentally, your post on yards mixed with my wife's desire to turn out backyard into "all things edible" has shifted our focus from attempting to have a lawn to letting the backyard be a hybrid mix of wild and planned / edible and pretty. <br /><br />I still won't get a horse, but I think this year I'm going back to biking to work, not for the ecological or health benefits, but because of perspective. <br /><br />Sorry if I turn every one of your blog posts into a public display of personal journal writing. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10956056168256756705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-68792117429039261942010-07-11T15:02:53.945-04:002010-07-11T15:02:53.945-04:00Dear Matt,
Oh, I love my calculator--not quite as...Dear Matt,<br /><br />Oh, I love my calculator--not quite as tangibly as I love my slide rules, but they do simplify my life.<br /><br />I agree that the issues is misuse, but that's a huge issue. Slide rules simply cannot be misused the same way. Slide rules require some interpretation, furthering a child's brain development.<br /><br />That kids need calculators to add single digits is sad, and belies their lack of number sense.<br /><br />So why not just toss the tool? What in school requires the pseudo-sophistication of a calculator?<br /><br />Thanks for writing!doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-11794678753293737902010-07-11T14:55:21.843-04:002010-07-11T14:55:21.843-04:00I get where you are coming from, but again what we...I get where you are coming from, but again what we have here is a failure to properly use the tool. You see, the name of the tool is "CALCULATE"-or, not "INTERPRETER". What has happened is that most people use the tool to simply calculate a correct answer. As a whole we have squeezed the type of thinking necessary to interpret the result right out of the curriculum. As a math teacher, I lament when I catch my students adding single digit numbers on a calculator. I hate it even more when the questions on the calculator active portion of our state exams barely rise above providing a correct result. Rarely are we testing for comprehension, evaluation, critical thinking, and number sense.<br /><br />I rarely ever ask for a simple computational result. It's always a "why", "how", or "Explain" question where math or science. Calculators can be wonderful tools if used correctly.Matt Guthriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17988058841752056554noreply@blogger.com