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Thursday June 7, 2007 7:00 am Lethbridge Sunrise 5:25 Sunset 21:35 Hours of daylight: 16:10
A. Morning Musings
7:00 am It is +9 C with a high forecast of +17 C.
Here are the news.
CBC Headline: B.C. Floods Submerge Routes, Strand Thousands
Floodwaters in northwestern B.C. that shut down key roads could leave tens of thousands cut off from the rest of the province for up to five more days, officials say. While flood threats have eased in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, main rail lines and major highways through the north have been washed out, cutting off Prince Rupert, Kitimat, and a number of smaller communities such as Telegraph Creek and two Nisga'a communities. The weather combination of rain and warm temperatures can be deadly in the spring.
Canadian Headline: see above
Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Howard Boosts Watchdog's Powers On Petrol Gouging
Petrol companies have been warned by Prime Minister John Howard he will give the competition watchdog whatever powers it needs to investigate price gouging at the bowser. Petrol prices rose by an average of 10 cents in the major capital cities today ahead of the Queen's Birthday long weekend. The price of unleaded petrol rose to a high of 139.9 cents a litre in Sydney today, averaging at 136 cents a litre. In Melbourne, it averaged 139.9 cents a litre. We have the same problem in Canada.
B. Actual/Notes
7:20 am The last couple of days have been cool and wet. There has been a lot of flooding of streets in both Edmonton and Calgary but we missed the brunt of the storm. Yesterday I felt a bit lethargic and stayed indoors and did some recreational reading. That was very relaxing. The sky is still overcast this morning but the rain has lightened to just intermittent showers.
I copied the following item from the CBC web page:
Celebrated Canadian poet Don McKay wins $50,000 Griffin Prize
Last Updated: Thursday, June 7, 2007 | 8:25 AM ET
The Canadian PressA veteran Canadian author who has twice won the Governor General's award for poetry was one of two recipients of the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize, awarded Wednesday at a lavish ceremony in Toronto.
Canadian Don McKay won for Strike/Slip, his 11th book of poetry, which was lauded by judges as a book of "patience, courage, and quiet eloquence."
The $100,000 award, worth $50,000 each to a Canadian and an international recipient, is among the most lucrative poetry prizes in the world.
... The British Columbia writer is considered Canada's top nature poet.
Now to see if I can obtain a copy of this book.
I am still on my first cup of coffee. I also want to move back to some non-fiction reading.
8:05 am I have ordered 3 books, two by Don McKay on poetry, and one on Mexican birds. I have also identified two non-fiction activities for the day. Now to sit back with a second cuppa and have a start at "The Canon" by Natalie Angier.
12:50 PM I have begun reading "The Canon". Now I want to begin writing a bit .... Here is the beginning of a paper I may try to circulate later.
Mathematics Education: The Next Generation
I love learning. I love mathematics. But I have difficulty finding kindred spirits. What follows is a personal comment on this situation.
My mind is a consequence of my body and of the myriad experiences it has undergone since birth. A few days ago I read a detective novel, "The Bone Collector" by Jeffery Deaver. This was a result of two friends recommending it to me. I value such soft suggestions. The novel puts a premium on evidence and rational thought. Yesterday I read a small book by Lee Iaccoca, "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?". Provocative and inspiring. A plea for Americans to get up off their duffs and start getting angry at what is happening in their country. I am angry about the current state of mathematics education in my country. A promising start.
I began reading another book this morning, "The Canon" by Natalie Angier. It is a book about the nature of science, another topic that interests me. The first three chapters are about thinking scientifically, probabilities, and calibration. The remaining six chapters are about physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, geology and astronomy. I would like to write a follow-up chapter on mathematics and mathematics education.
One of my favorite quotes is by Isaac Asimov, who began his compendium "Asimov's New Guide to Science" with the sentence, "Almost in the beginning was curiosity." Another quote, that I have seen in a number of mathematics papers, is "Mathematics is not a spectator sport".
To recap, here is a list of the seven points that together have combined to motivate me to begin writing:
1. I love learning.
2. I love mathematics.
3. "The Bone Collector"
4. "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?"
5. "The Canon"
6. 'Almost in the beginning was curiosity.'
7. 'Mathematics is not a spectator sport.'The first two and the last two items are part of my daily make-up. The middle three are fortuitous books that somehow all led me to see connections among them and to inspire me to take up my mouse and begin typing.
Here are a few points that I want to cover:
check provincial guidelines across grade levels
Logo & Papert
Jacobs on billiard math
Goodman on symmetry
Mason on thinking
Wright on CMIT
Piaget on number
Iverson on APL
role of standardized tests on the curriculum
measurement and accountability
professionalism and (government, school boards, teachers, universities, Faculties of Education)
"The best scientists don't overreach or grandstand, at least not until they've retired into the armchair comforts of emeritus professorship, a time of life sometimes referred to as philosopause". [The Canon. p. 36]
suggestions:
- school & district centered professional development
- teacher centers
- local accountability (build on Iacocca's idea of evaluation of how well we are doing)
-take the major goal statements and ask each focus group (students, teachers, parents, administrators, education professors) to rate how well we are meeting each goal.
- examine documents on provincial achievement results
- create a new instrument that is based on a new sense of priorities
- compare the above three sources for consistency and discrepancy
- conduct a survey of each focus group on what they perceive as strengths and weaknesses of the present system as well as ask for suggestions on how to improve the situation
- use all of the above as a baseline and repeat the process each year while incorporating some form of revised curriculum
- exploration activities (process of mathematics)
- skill activities (arithmetic, algorithms, facts)
- role of technology
References
Angier, N. (2007). The Canon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Asimov, I. (1984). Asimov's New Guide to Science. New York: Basic Books.
Deaver, J. (1997). The Bone Collector. New York: Pocket Books.
Iacocca, L. (2006). Where Have All the Leaders Gone? New York: Scribner.
Mason, J. (1985). Thinking Mathematically. Revised Edition. Wokingham, England: Addison-Wesley.
Web Sites
http://www.edc.gov.ab.ca/parents/handbooks/
http://www.wncp.ca/
C. Plan
Immediate Literature Continue reading "The Navigator Of New York" by Wayne Johnston Technology Read & make notes for chap. 4 from "Macromedia Dreamweaver 8" Science Read & make notes for "The Canon" by Natalie Angier Mathematics Write a paper on mathematics education Later Technology Make notes for chap. 4 of "Switching to the Mac" Learn how to attach a digital camera to my spotting scope Burn backup of images onto DVD Mathematics Read & make notes on The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems Continue reading "Algebra: Abstract and Concrete" by Frederick Goodman Read "Symmetry" by David Wade Make notes for "Mathematics: A Human Endeavor" ch 1 Read "Fearless Symmetry" chap 9: Elliptic Curves Model Trains Add ground cover to oil refinery diorama Follow tutorial for version 8 of 3rd PlanIt Continue assembly of coaling tower Purchase DCC system History Begin reading "Maya" Read Watson "Ideas" Philosophy Read & make notes for "Breaking the Spell" Begin reading "How Are We To Live?" by Peter Singer Literature New York Times easy crossword puzzles GO Complete reading "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go" Puzzles The Orange Puzzle Cube: puzzle #10
Major Goals Learning Review week's pages each Sunday Review all pages for the month at the end of each month Technology Review & edit iPhoto files for 2006 Model Trains Become proficient with 3rd PlanIt software Install DCC on model train layout GO Learn to play GO at something better than a beginner level Drawing Learn to draw!! (I keep saying this, yet I have yet to put a pencil to paper). Mathematics Continue to play with mathematics. Literature Continue to read Literature Bird Watching Continue to engage in bird watching activities.
D. Reflection