My Math Mantra

I Love Math and I am getting better and better at it!

 
 

Attitude is everything.  Especially in Math Class!


Many students of developmental math have been programmed for failure in math in their definitive years:  From a sibling saying “It is too hard”  or a friend  “It is not important” or a parent  “I wasn’t good at it so you probably won’t be either,” or the worst case, from a 6th grade teacher saying “Your not good at math so stay away from it.”


I invite all my students to shrug off these labels and accept a new mantra.


“I Love Math . . . And I am getting better and better at it”

 

If Earth inhaled it’s atmosphere and blew a bubble this is what it would look like - but the air would be filled with the exhaust of 900 million cars, 100,000 coal fired power plants, 50,000 dirty oil powered cargo container ships crossing the oceans, and millions of acres burned annually in the rain forests to clear them for cattle so I can eat my hamburger and steaks!  The Earth is a sealed room.




I did not care for him as our Governator, but I like him now as an advocate for life on planet Earth:


http://www.salon.com/2015/12/11/arnold_schwarzeneggers_shockingly_reasonable_climate_change_plea/


“And finally, Arnold’s final question is possibly one of the best extended metaphor relating to the climate crisis.

There are two doors. Behind Door Number One is a completely sealed room, with a regular, gasoline-fueled car. Behind Door Number Two is an identical, completely sealed room, with an electric car. Both engines are running full blast.

I want you to pick a door to open, and enter the room and shut the door behind you. You have to stay in the room you choose for one hour. You cannot turn off the engine. You do not get a gas mask.

I’m guessing you chose the Door Number Two, with the electric car, right? Door number one is a fatal choice – who would ever want to breathe those fumes?

This is the choice the world is making right now.”

 

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-best-investment-decision-i-have-ever-made?utm_source=pocket-newtab

“When I got my business degree in 2011, I was ready to start my career.

I wanted to start a business, earn money, and also invest. Those were my main priorities for the past seven years.

I did all those things. You know what I found?

Every decision you make in life is either an investment or a waste.

Here’s what I mean:

  1. •Browsing social media for hours is a waste of your time

  2. •Eating junk food is a waste of your health

  3. •Having a job that makes you miserable is a waste of your energy


Similarly:

  1. •Working out is an investment in your health

  2. •Spending time with people you care about is an investment in relationships and personal wellbeing

  3. •Reading, taking courses, watching informational videos, are investments in your education

Those last three things are all good. And investing in your education has the highest return on investment. Why?

We live in a competence economy. Power lies in the hands of those who know how to solve problems that society needs an answer to.

In a way, that’s always been the case. In the hunter-gatherer days, the best hunters (gatherers) were the most successful people.

That’s why we need to improve our skills if we want to survive, let alone be successful.

And how do you get skills? By them—which is hard. That’s why I believe investing in your education is better than any monetary investment there is.”

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you this life dependent news . . .