This is not unusual. I am an avid sports fan, so are many of my students. They have chosen to cover a good portion of our walls with sports memorabilia. Quickly, the impact of Michael's retirement is broached. A voice from the back of the room mentions that the Bulls are lucky that he retired because they will no longer have to pay that hefty salary.
Eyes light up and hands shoot up all over the room.
Sixth graders know what Michael is all about. The lone voice from the back of the room changes his thinking as his friends help him to see the bigger picture. I am beginning to enjoy my role as facilitator. The rich discussion between students quickly turns mathematical without them realizing it. They are discussing non-routine problems, discriminating between relevant and irrelevant information that isn't even written in front of them in the form of a word problem.