by Anne White
This post combines some of our favourite things: Denise Gaskins' approach to teaching mathematics in a way that reflects Charlotte Mason's principles; the New Mason Jar podcast; and the chance for thoughtful educators to dialogue about ideas.
Your assignment (and I do hope you choose to accept it) is, first, to listen to the podcast episodes (here and here) where Cindy Rollins and Dawn Duran interview Denise.
“[A child’s] education should also offer him passage into wide-open spaces full of treasures to be encountered, appreciated, and enjoyed no matter how he spends the laboring portion of his days.” (Karen Glass, Much May Be Done With Sparrows)
Then come back here and consider these discussion questions. Maybe you would like to get a couple of friends together and talk about them. Or you can post your answers in the Comments section.
Introductory Questions
1. What is one way that you used math today? (Outside of teaching it.)
2. You are ten years old and you’ve finished your arithmetic worksheet. The teacher says you can go to her shelf of special activities and choose a game to play. Would you pick something that looked like a math game? Why or why not?
Discussion Questions
1. Denise Gaskins’ website, and one of her books, are called “Let’s Play Math.” Before listening to these interviews, what might you have assumed about her approach to mathematics? How did that change after hearing the podcasts?
2. What does math class at your house look like? Are you interested in exploring more of the "play math" suggestions (games, journalling, reading library books) with your own students?
3. Which of the following quotes make the most sense to you? Are there any that you disagree with?
"Math should be like a nature walk."
"Thinking hard can be fun."
"The 3 R's of math are to Recognize and Reason about Relationships.”
"What children need most are a few basic principles and the ability to reason, to draw their own conclusions about how numbers, shapes, and patterns work.”
4. The podcast presenters suggested that when Charlotte Mason said that, in her time, the standard approach to math teaching did not need to be “fixed” because it wasn’t “broken.” Do you think our view of mathematics (and math teaching) has become more broken since then?
5. You have a friend who sees herself as more of a math person than someone who enjoys literature and art. Is there a way you could give her an understanding of C. M. principles through the lens of mathematics?
