I would not classify myself as a good reader, but as an impatient reader. I don’t know the last time I sat down and enjoyed a book from cover to cover. I usually get so impatient to find out what happens that I will skip ahead in my reading to discover the end of a climax scene, before returning to learn what actually transpires. I thoroughly enjoy reading. To be honest, I enjoy it a little too much. During the school year I have to limit myself to a certain number of books, otherwise I would spend my time engrossed in tales of mythical creatures, or romances, instead of doing homework or studying. I get easily caught into a good story, and can’t seem to pull myself out of an adventure to focus back to real life. My favorite kinds of novels are those that include a protagonist that the world views as nothing, who becomes something great: for example, the Eragon series. My other favorite kind of novel is a clean romance novel that has a good plot line; for example all books written by Marcia Lynn McClure. (http://distractionsink.com/) I love to read and am not too picky when it comes to choosing a book to read. I do have one stipulation; I don’t enjoy a book with a sad ending, which somehow ended up being a good majority of the books I read in high school. When it comes to books like Night, The Outsiders, or The Pearl, I hate reading. I don’t find it worth the read, even when it is a classic, if I am going to feel sad and disappointed at the end. I read to enjoy life’s pleasures, to feel happy; not to be dismayed by an author’s perception of a dark society.
My love of reading comes from my dad. He loves to read and loves to learn. No longer being in school, he feels books are one of the best ways to further his education. He reads at least 50 books a year ranging from poetry to books on quantum physics. My dad’s eagerness to learn has spread to me. As a child he would take me on daddy daughter dates, which almost always ended in us going to a book store to each pick out a new book to buy. At the beginning my reading was simply novels, but as time has gone on, I have come to love poetry, news articles, and comics, especially math comics.
I was introduced to math comics by a teacher up here at Utah State, Dave Brown. At the beginning or end of each class he would past a comic on the overhead, usually about what we had learned. Being able to understand a math comic was enjoyable because 1, it was hilarious, and 2, you felt smart getting a joke, not many other people would understand. It made me enjoy my math just that much more. There are not too many texts that my students will use apart from their math textbooks. I would, however, love to help my students find a joy in reading articles or comics abut math. From my experiences I have learned, that if the reading is not something I am interested in, or is something I don’t like, I will not enjoy the reading and I will not retain what I read. As much as people dislike math, math is involved in so many things. I would love to have an activity which included my students finding an article about a personal hobby of theirs, and how math is related to that hobby. I would also love to incorporate the use of comics in my daily or at least weekly lesson plan. I want my students to learn to enjoy math, and I hope it can be achieved through this sort of analogy charting activity, and through the comics. I hope to be able to foster an environment in which my students begin to see a value in math, as it is applicable to not just their daily lives, but also the things they enjoy. I hope, that by giving students the freedom to choose their reading as it relates to math and their hobbies, and by letting them enjoy it, through comics, they will become successful math readers. Math is not so much about reading a text, as it is about finding how it can be applied to life. I believe student’s self-perceptions of themselves as readers can be built up by letting them incorporate what is important to them, into what you are teaching, and having them read.
So I really liked the Eragon series too!! They are really good books and I got lost in the story! As well reading the ending of the book and than going back. I am guilty of doing that to some of the books that I have read! I love Calvin and Hobbes and think they have meaning and everything that you can teach and do in life!!! But I really liked how you talked about getting students to find those things that are important to them and than be able to incorporate it into the content area of teaching. I think that is really important with reading, because everyone read differently and has different interests and such. I think having them find what is important to them and how it relates also gives a sense of ownership and pride that can be really useful in teaching!
ReplyDeleteI really like that you are thinking of integrating comics into your mathematics instruction. Graph Jam also sometimes has funny pie charts and other graphics. Because many students feel anxiety toward mathematics, the inclusion of these texts will help many of them to lighten up.
ReplyDeleteThere are also many fun digital games related to various aspects of mathematics, Pinterest boards for math nerds, and so on. One reason I like the digital, social media age is because people can share their love of the disciplines (in this case, math) with others in a fun setting.
Thanks for a great posting!
I love the ideas that you put forth in your post. I like the summation best, Applying what they read to their life, it is important and very true.
ReplyDeleteI envy the days in which I had the time to just sit and read as much as I wanted. I find it interesting how comics tend to bring out great pride in people. It is similar in my own field. When I see a comic related to music I feel so intelligent because I understand the joke so well. Being able to have students find math interesting through their own hobbies is an excellent idea. I think that would increase the interest in the content significantly. This way students are directing their own learning.
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