dutchess's New Writeups

Pi Day (thing)

2007-03-11T21:33:34Z

(To the tune of O, Christmas Tree)

Oh, number Pi Oh, number Pi Your digits are unending, Oh, number Pi Oh, number Pi No pattern are you sending. You're three point one four one five nine, And even more if we had time, Oh, number Pi Oh, number Pi For circle lengths unbending. ¹

Well, we're gearing up for Pi Day at school. March 14 is almost upon us once again, and students are memorizing as many digits as they can of the revered irrational number. One of the fun things about working with kids is that you're always on the lookout for things to celebrate, and holidays, major and minor, are seen as teachable moments. Teachers are the people dressed in pink for Valentines day and green for St. Patrick's; we are the adults who can tell you all about Black History Month and how to properly fold and cut a six-sided paper snowflake.

The lowercase Greek letter π…

May 20, 2006 (idea)

2006-05-19T03:27:28Z

This daylog is tenth in a series chronicling my path through the 12 steps of Al-Anon. I've been recording my personal journey because it helps me to clarify my thinking to write it all down. This entry marks Step 10.

Step Ten: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

This is my favorite step. When I first heard the Twelve Steps at an Al-Anon meeting, a little over three years ago, I balked at the powerlessness mentioned in Step 1 and at the idea of turning my will and my life over to the care of God (Step 3), but even at that first meeting I had no argument with Step 10. Imagine a life where you recognize and admit your mistakes—promptly—and then just move on. What an astounding concept! What a way to live.

I place a lot a lot a lot a lot of value on being right. I wish I didn't,…

This week, Jen's got a new man, or, another take on some algebraic properties (idea)

2005-09-30T02:03:06Z

My eighth and ninth graders know how to use the associative and commutative properties of addition and multiplication, they just don't know what they're called. You know how to use them, too. Here, I'll show you:

If someone gives you a bunch of numbers to add, like


6 + 8 + 1 + 4 + 2 =

I bet you look for groups of ten; the six plus the four, and the eight plus the two. So far you've got two groups of ten, which makes twenty, and then one more, so the answer is 21, right? It makes the problem easier to do it that way. What you're doing, to use the mathematical terms, is re-arranging the order of the numbers and grouping them together in the most convenient way. You're using the commutative and associative properties of addition, respectively.

When I introduce these properties to reluctant PreAlgebra and Algebra students, I don't even use numbers. Or letters. Zeeesh, variables are even more…

September 25, 2005 (idea)

2005-09-25T02:03:13Z

This daylog is ninth of a series chronicling my path through the 12 steps of Al-Anon. I've been recording my personal journey because it helps me to clarify my thinking to write it all down. This entry marks Step 9.

Step Nine: Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

I went to an Al-Anon meeting the other day, a noon meeting that I'm particularly fond of, full of strong women who are courageous and honest and funny. They tell their stories and share the pain, frustration, and confusion they're facing in their lives, but they also share the lessons they've learned. They're able to cry when they need to and they make each other laugh. The day's topic was detachment and many of the sharings involved mother/daughter relationships. Two things that were said hit me…

put your money where your mouth is (idea)

2005-09-11T14:34:43Z

Idiom; presumably of betting / gambling origin; talk is cheap; put up or shut up; don't just say you think that horse is going to win, bet your money on it.

To put your money where your mouth is means to back up your words with actions. Instead of saying "Someone should really help those people" or "They need to re-paint that building" or "Public Radio should be better funded", for instance, a person could take action; providing aid, re-painting, donating money.

There's a rhythm to the idiom, because money and mouth are alliterative.

I remember a toothpaste commercial from the 1970s that played on this saying; the advertisers were suggesting that consumers literally spend their money on their mouths, on keeping their teeth clean.

Thanks to:
http://www.englishforums.com/English/MoneyMouth/bvhwr/Post.htm
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/1530.html

Pythagorean Theorem (idea)

2005-04-14T01:49:56Z

Try saying this out loud. It's not only fun, it's also a concise definition. And accurate.

The Pythagorean Theorem: the sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse.

This definition amuses me. I teach Pre-Algebra and Algebra; for the sake of integrating disciplines, I have my students count the prepositional phrases therein.