What are Real Math Textbooks?
black click pen on white paper
Do you have a great math textbook? What makes it great? How does it address problem-solving?
In the video, Dan Meyer: Math class needs a makeover, Dan highlights an ingenious way to add rigor to a typical math textbook based transforming key problem solving and critical thinking strategies from what is presented in your textbook. Actually, the principle behind Meyer's methodology could be utilized in different courses to bolster a teacher's classroom instruction. It is truly amazing what you can do with a little technology and carefully placed ambiguity.
Meyer's video presents us with a bigger challenge. How can we change the learning culture of our students? If you are like me, you are getting pretty tired of lazy learners and dare I say, lazy teachers. Now I am not trying to point fingers or downplay the challenges many teachers experience when preparing for their students. More than ever before, teachers have limited time and resources, and they have to prepare for students with diverse instructional needs. Instead, Meyer's video should be viewed as a challenge to how we approach problem-solving with our students.
From Haiti to America: A Lesson in How We Live
If you’ve been on planet Earth this week, you’ve seen the heart-wrenching devastation in Haiti—the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, now shattered by disaster. The images are unbearable: families torn apart, lives buried under rubble, a nation crying out for help.
I can’t stop thinking about them. But I also can’t stop thinking about us—here in America—watching from our couches, on HD flat screens, with food in the fridge and clean water at our fingertips. We send up prayers, text our donations, maybe even shed tears. But let’s be honest: when the coverage fades, will we really take away anything lasting? What should we be learning from this?
Taking Things for Granted
For two days I’ve wrestled with that question. Everything happens for a reason, right? Maybe this moment is about human unity. Maybe it’s about learning gratitude for what we have. But those answers feel too easy.
What if the real lesson is about time? About how we spend the only non-renewable resource we have.
We live in a culture addicted to more—more wealth, more stuff, more attention, more comfort. Even when we think we’re living simply, compared to Haiti we’re living the high life. And yet, with all our comfort, we waste days scrolling, complaining, chasing things that don’t matter.
The people of Haiti didn’t wake up expecting their world to collapse. Neither do we. But one day, it will be our last day too. We just won’t know it when we roll out of bed that morning.
Living Like It Matters
So what do we do with that truth? We stop assuming we have endless tomorrows. We stop treating time like it’s cheap. We spend our days on what matters most: loving people, pursuing purpose, leaving a positive mark.
If tragedy teaches us anything, it’s this: life is fragile. Every day we wake up in peace, it’s a gift. Let’s not waste it. Let’s live as if today could be our last—because one day, it will be.
Does race matter in education?
chairs classroom college desks
Color Blindness
In today's politically correct world, it is hard to call it like it is. This is especially true when it comes to race and culture. The term "color blind" or the statement " I don't see race" is actually contributing to many of our racial problems today. We have to rise above the fear of ignorance and start becoming racially aware or culturally educated. This would allow us to recognize the God designed difference in the races as a good thing, not something of shame and regret.
So what does this have to do with reverse racism in schools? Well if we can not have the right perspective on who and what we are, how will we ever be able to recognize the hypocrisy and racial ignorance we perpetuate in our educational system today. Far too often we simply let racial injustices go uncontested in the spirit of tolerance (often times this is code for fearfulness). I never realized how this way of thinking was actually a perversion of the true perspective of race. We also have to stop acting like racism is the same as prejudice. Every human being has prejudices, it is a part of human nature to make inferences or to develop beliefs before knowing. In fact, we have to learn how to go against the tendency to prejudge. Racism, on the other hand, is totally different. To develop racism takes a cocktail of ignorance, pain & frustration, confusion, and perversion.
No one race or ethnic group is immune to the destructive influence of racism. As long as we are human, there will be someone hating and trying to bring down another. Let's strive to truly open our minds to the pervasiveness of racist views throughout this world and seek real tolerance by asking God for the courage to confront the roots of these unjust views wherever they occur.