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This is a blood boiling NYTimes Op-ed.

"Making mathematics mandatory prevents us from discovering and developing young talent." False. The way we TEACH mathematics in the United States is what kills potential talent or e

ven love for the subject. " In the interest of maintaining rigor, we’re actually depleting our pool of brainpower. " True. The stereotypical classroom math curriculum* in the US does nothing for fostering a population that likes or even tolerates math. *That is having students learn equations and regurgitate in homework. Rinse, repeat, style.

See the wonderful book Count Down about the US High School Math Olympic team in 2001 for a very interesting look into the differences in math instruction in the United States and throughout the world.

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In December our school hosted a "Lunch with Santa" where students and their families came and did holiday crafts, had pictures with Santa, sang holiday songs, and the like. They also had the opportunity to write letters to Santa.Giraffeand I had the opportunity to respond to their letters. Here is one response:

"

Dear Ephrim, Thank you for your letter. I read it to Mrs. Claus while she was making dinner. She wanted me to tell you Merry Christmas! I see that you asked for a bike and a helmet. A helmet is an excellent idea. I remember when I teaching one of the elves to ride a bike, she kept falling off and bumping her head. Good thing she had a helmet! I’ll pass your wishes on to the workshop. I hope to keep getting good reports about you from the elves. Merry Christmas. Sincerely, Santa Claus"

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There's no "Before" picture but trust me this backstage team space was just hours before under siege with remnants from our year long service at the school. We relocated paint cans, raffle tickets, after school program projects, posters, recess equipment, and a heck of a lot more.

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Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

- Howard Thurman

During our community meeting a staff member gave me a bag of sand (a reference to a City Year founding story, Sand into Diamonds) and the above quote. I am in a transition stage where I can't figure out if I want to go back to college and if I do - what for. I'm still digesting Thurman's words, but I plan to take them to heart.

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Worth it.

My teacher and I have an insanely amazing relationship.  We started off the year not quite connecting and a bit unsure of each other.  But with hard work on both of our parts, we grew to respect and love each other a lot.  I'm the little cheerleader who loves being goofy, gets emotional and loves hugs; she is the more reserved, proper teacher, who is a firm disciplinarian that often is misunderstood by the kids, but really has a huge heart and great sense of humor.

So, yesterday, I went back to visit her and give her a gift from me.  I had some nice gardening gloves for her, because she lost hers recently and I could not let her dig through dirt with her bare hands!  Haha.  But, I also had a little notebook/journal for her.  In it, I wrote her a really long, emotional letter (so I wouldn't cry in front of her, haha) and then all of the quotes from our HILARIOUS kids this year.  We've been sharing quotes back and forth this year, and she knew I was writing them down, but I guess never expected me to give them to her!

When I presented her the gifts and explained the journal, she said, "OH MY GOSH!!!", jumped up, and gave me a huge hug.  She was so, so excited and thanked me a million times.  One thing I always wanted her to remember about me was to try to laugh a lot in light of ridiculous situations, and I think now she always will.

That moment, my friends, that hug and pure emotion from her, was probably the best moment with her from my entire year.  Worth it.

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The last real look at our team space on our last day at our school.

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All the kids from our after school program were picked up, so we let off some team building steam.

Knockout!

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I listened to this podcast during my 12 hour bus ride to Philadelphia last month. I thought it would make a great lesson plan for our 3rd-5th grade after school program.

I made some adjustments for the age group (we also have 30+ kids, not 10) and invented a trading game based on a stripped down version of Settlers of Catan.

I think the kids understood how economies are based on barter and trade, but sadly we didn't have time to test out my Jr. Settlers invention. They were, of course, more interested in eating their candy at the end of the lesson than anything else.

But I tried.

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Every 26 seconds, another child drops out of school.

12% of the nation’s high schools produce 50% of America’s dropouts.

3.8 million kids are starting high school this year.  In four years, 1 out of 4 of them won’t graduate.

Nationwide, about 7,000 students drop out of school every day.

In the nation’s lowest-performing high schools, 60% or fewer freshmen progress to their senior year three years later.

Almost 50% of children in low income communities will drop out of high school.

Almost 50% of children in high poverty communities won’t graduate from high school.

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Back when we were preparing for Science Night and losing our minds due to stress and a lack of sleep, I procrastinated in MS Paint and sent this encouragement to a teammate, Giraffe.

What a month.

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Teacher appreciation week was last month. This appreciation package was designed by my friend for her daughter's teacher.

A few things I would have added: boxes of Kleenex, table wipes, EXPO markers*, and a real honest to god WORKING electric sharpener.

*Things children destroy in the course of a few days (no, not weeks, and no I am not exaggerating) let alone one school year:

A box of 24 pencils.

An electric industrial sharpener.

A box of Kleenex.

A box of dry erase markers. 

A replacement box of 56 pencils.

Erasers.

A backup to the replacement box of pencils.

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Dave teaches me to play a game about epidemics, POX, after school.

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I ordered a second hand book called "A City Year: On the streets and in neighboorhoods with twelve young community service volunteers" by Suzanne Goldsmith.

Goldsmith follows one City Year team (one of the very first in the organization) through their 9 month service in Boston. It was fascinating to read how different - and yet how similar - City Year as an organization operated 20 years ago and how corps members felt about their service. The book specifically mentions the corps' collective high spirits for the first half of service and the sluggish spirit and disillusionment that creeps into the corps in the second half. This has not changed in 20 years. Perhaps it is a fault of City Year, but also a consequence of devoting yourself to a cause that leeches from you as much as it gives back to you every day.

It's an interesting read for anyone who has been involved with City Year and for those interested in service.

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Birthday surprise.

Thursday was "Sum Slayer's" birthday. He walked in the door and immediately pinned a Birthday Boy badge over his heart.

I said, "Good morning, Birthday Boy!" and he handed me a bag of birthday treats. I set the bag aside without looking in it and started our morning routine.

Later, my teacher and I looked at the container in the bag and wondered whether we should refrigerate it. I lifted the tupperware's cover and beheld a lot of....carrots. The unskinned kind you might give to rabbits or horses. They were cut into thirds. At the bottom of the bag were barbeque tongs.

I was unsure how Sum Slayer's peers would take the unique birthday surprise. They tend to be used to cupcakes, oreos, and their sugary brethren.

But gosh darn if they didn't take their carrots willingly as Sum Slayer wielded his tongs and dropped his treat on each desk.

Happy Birthday, Sum Slayer.

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Field trips are fantastic, especially after fighting so hard to attend. Celebrating the Fishercats in the rain

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Celebrity status?

Yesterday, I got an invitation to a kindergartener's birthday.  I told her I wouldn't be able to go, sadly.  She said, "That's okay!  I invited plenty of celebrities" and then started telling me that she wants to be a City Year.  Which caused everyone else at the kindergarten table to tell me they wanted to be a City Year, too.  I don't even think they know my name, which is the most interesting part.

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A Freakonomics podcast about how our schools should and can cater to different types of learners. Accompanying article and direct link to the podcast is here.