"Mind-stretching work like this requires no textbook, no equipment, no larger budget."- Marion Brady
I found that line of the article to hit home the most. I got an email the other day from my secretary saying that I needed to cut $500 out of my science budget next year. I can easily cut some of the materials and labs I put in there, but that does not sum up to $500. I have been stressing about this all week and talking with other science teachers about what they requested for the upcoming year. Brady is right in his idea that the most powerful examples of learning take place when the human experience is being observed. This works incredibly well for science and social studies, and sometimes math. Geometry lends it self very well to being observed naturally and construction of most things are based on mathematical principles. There are still the literacy skills and basic math required to observe these concepts in real life that are missing. I think what I will take away from this article is to try new things! Be confident and discuss with the students that chances are worth taking, and maybe I don't need all those things.
That's a tough spot to be in. Glad you can see it as an opportunity to use some of what we're learning - like Brady's idea of studying reality.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th!