From: adri0001@student.tc.umn.edu ()
Subject: In Response to Sheila King
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1993 02:01:36 GMT

>continued to Amarit:
 
Amrit, I insist :)
 
>-> What was he doing?  I would like to see if I might be able to offer
>-> an alternative to this whole book system you use...
 
>Well, that would be fine. The boy was just making outloud little
>comments. In other words, talking outloud every few minutes, trying to
>be funny, class clown, making remarks on things I said or on things
>other kids said. And I told him, when I talked to him, that I liked to
>have fun in class, too. And I thought he was funny. And I like to be a
>bit flexible. But enough was enough, and he would have to stop now and
>control himself a little better. (Those were not my exact words, but
>something to that effect.)
 
I'm not really sure what I'd do in that situation.  It's not too difficult to
see that the student was "causing a disruption" but these disruptions are
generally caused by boredom because obviously the child felt what he was
doing was in fact better than what you were doing, as it amused him.  Again,
I cite the problem as being that the student did not find what he was
"learning" very enlightening.  I cannot offer you any suggestions as I had
said I might, however.  Quite frankly, the way I teach, I don't run into these
situations becuase in general, the student learns and the student enjoys learn-
ing what he is learning in my class...I have done very little lecturing...but I
have done a lot of work to keep up with the interests that my students have had
in the past.
 
>You are correct that with our system the way it is set up right now, the
>different subject areas seem very compartmentalized to students.
 
..and what have you done personally to change this situation?
 
>However, I don't think that letting a kid work on his spanish assignment
>in my math class teaches him that math and spanish have anything in
>common. This situation could be corrected, but I think it would take a
>re-written curriculumn designed to integrate the different subject
>areas. Simply deciding to let kids work on a different subject in my
>class doesn't show them at ALL what that other subject has to do with
>math.
 
I am not saying we should arbitraily allow students to do Spanish in a
math class...but I am saying that we should do just what you suggested...
 
>This situation could be corrected, but I think it would take a
>re-written curriculumn designed to integrate the different subject
>areas.
 
>Now, sometimes I do bring up other curricular areas in class. Not
>often enough to say that I do it with any regularity. But usually when I
>do, it has something to do with math. THAT has a lot more to do with
>showing them how the disciplines are interelated.
 
Did I ever suggest that we should just arbitrarily allow them to do what they
wanted?  No, I am addressing the problem, and I am actually trying to change
it.  If you continue to operate in the compartmental classroom (your words)
then what good are you doing by not helping change it?  Try and implement
a new curriculumn instead of just sitting idly by watching students cycle in
and out of your compartment leaving "enlightened" by what they learned...
 
>-> I can list hundreds of examples where english and MATH come
>-> together...just ask...
 
>Well, go ahead. But I do often give examples of english in my math
>class. Particularly since I teach geometry, which is a very verbal
>branch of mathematics. But does letting my students read MacBeth in my
>class teach them how english is useful in the study of math?
 
No...did I ever say that letting them read Macbeth in your classroom teaches
them how english is useful in math?  Did I imply that?  Hmm...maybe since the
wording wasn't quite right...but I am saying now that I never will and never
have been an advocate of allowing students studying math to try and learn how
to find the area of a cylinder by reading Macbeth.
 
>continued, next message
 
ditto...

-- 
   -=-=-=  Amrit Chauhan --- Conciousness can be Demystified  -=-=-=-
 -=-=-=  achauhan@math.macalstr.edu - #AppleIIgs forever        -=-=-=-
-=-=-=   Conciousness depends on its associated concepts.         =-=-=-
-=-=-=   Cartesian Duelism is giving up on science.   -->--<@     =-=-=-