Saturn Rising
“I’d like you to envision your ideal classroom. What are you seeing? What are students doing?”
At Twitter Math Camp this summer, I participated in a 3-day workshop for math teachers, coaches, and administrators. Our facilitator had us begin by working in small groups to write a vision statement for math class. After a minute of quiet jotting, my partners and I turned to one another to share our ideas.
I want to hear students talking to one another, one said.
Another: I want to see students using math to solve challenging problems.
I’d like students to share their strategies and not be embarrassed if their answers are wrong.
These are lovely visions. And given the stasis that pervades math education — students still sitting in rows; students still solving rote problems; teachers still prioritizing answers over reasoning — realizing them would be a major win.
But I don’t think it wouldn’t be a complete win. I think we can win bigger. I think we can envision more.