I have been avoiding writing for the last little while, and for good reason. I have really been struggling with where I wanted my writing to go, what I wanted it to say or accomplish. I have come to realize that it doesn't NEED to do anything. It can just be what it is.
Those of you who have read my blog before may notice that I have, once again, changed the name of this space. I know that this is not a good idea when you are trying to get your blog off the ground. However, I have recently arrived at a space where I realized I was trying to get my blog to fit a particular genre of writing, rather than it being a place where I can write about what I am passionate about, regardless of the specific topic. So, I have renamed my blog after something that I am passionate about as a math teacher--that you can only have one equals sign per line--as a testament to letting this blog be about what I am most passionate about at any given time.
One equals sign!
Each year I start off my year talking to my students about mathematical communication and convention. As a general topic, this is something that is SUPER important to me, just as using punctuation properly is important. My students don't often share this view, and therefore I am presented with math that is simply strewn all over the page. I have been known to bang my head against a desk or two when presented with this business, accompanied by a mock "ACCKKK!" The kids find this all very amusing until they realize that I am entirely serious about this--you can't just spew your math all over the page. It needs to be organized and communicated thoughtfully. You can't just throw equals signs around. They mean something. And if you're throwing them in whenever and where you feel like it, chances are you have no idea what an equals sign really means.
So, what does it mean?
This is an activity that I like to use in the very beginning of the school year. I ask the kids to write a definition for the term 'equals sign'. It is interesting to see what they write down. And then, just for fun, I group them up and ask them to act it out. I am always fascinated by how many students don't seem to really understand what an equals sign means; they think it is simply a part of the math equation. They have memorized it as part of a pattern or formula for doing math. It is part of their procedural understanding. This little activity is my starting point for helping my students see the importance of developing their conceptual understanding of mathematics. It sure is a great conversation starter.
One equals sign per line. My passion about this is the first thing that lets my students know that 'Math is Mrs Dean's thing'. And, whether this is good to admit or not, sometimes it is one of the main things that my students remember about my teaching. "You can only have one equals sign per line." Oh, that and "If you look at your answer and you've written down 1= 0, you're probably wrong".
