January 2010

News/Events

December 23 – January 4, 2010 – Open by appointment. Have a great Holiday!

Happy January Birthday to Scott, Elijah, Jordan, Camille, Andrew, Maya, Peter & Brendan!

Spin and Win Bonus! Students who complete 3 or more pages in December or January get to spin the wheel for an extra prize like hot cocoa, a game or funny putty. And, kids who  answer the “Question of the Day” also get a chance to spin for a bonus.

5 Part Series: Myths That Can Cause Math Anxiety
Myth #2: TO BE GOOD AT MATH YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD AT CALCULATING

Some people count on their fingers. Invariably, they feel somewhat ashamed about it, and try to do it furtively. But this is ridiculous. Why shouldn’t you count on your fingers? What else is a Chinese abacus, but a sophisticated version of counting on your fingers? Yet people accomplished at using the abacus can out-perform anyone who calculates figures mentally.

Modern mathematics is a science of ideas, not an exercise in calculation. It is a standing joke that mathematicians can’t do arithmetic reliably, and I often admonish my students to check my calculations on the chalkboard because I’m sure to get them wrong if they don’t. There is a serious message in this: being a wiz at figures is not the mark of success in mathematics.

This bears emphasis: a pocket calculator has no knowledge, no insight, no understanding – yet it is better at addition and subtraction than any human will ever be. And who would prefer being a pocket calculator to being human?

This myth is largely due to the methods of teaching discussed above, which emphasize finding solutions by rote. Indeed, many people suppose that a professional mathematician’s research involves something like doing long division to more and more decimal places, an image that makes mathematicians smile sadly. New mathematical ideas – the object of research – are precisely that. Ideas. And ideas are something we can all relate to. That’s what makes us people to begin with.

Tips & Techniques: Travel Math for the Holidays

You and your family are going on a 300-mile automobile trip. You can count mile markers, trucks, or wheels that you pass, or see who can spot the largest license plate number, then ask yourself:

1)  At an average speed of 60 miles per hour, how long will the whole trip take?

2)  If you car gets 25 miles per gallon, how many gallons of gas will be used on the trip?

3)  If gasoline costs $3.25 per gallon, estimate the cost of gas for the trip.

4)  After you have traveled 60 miles:

• a)  How much farther do you have to go?
• b)  What fractional part of the trip have you traveled?
• c)  What percent of the trip is left to go?

5)  After you have traveled 60% of the trip:

• a)  How much farther do you have to go?
• b)  What fractional part of the trip have you traveled?
• c)  What percent of the trip is left to go?

6)  When you have 1/10 of the trip left to go:

• a)  How far have you traveled?
• b)  How many gallons of gas have been used so far?
• c)  What percent of the trip have you completed?

7)  If you increase your average speed from 60mph to 75 mph:

• a)  How much faster will you get there?
• b)  By what percent did your time for the whole trip improve?

Student of the Month

Michael GreenLee