The Practical Classroom
To illustrate, let’s fast forward from my high school experience in geometry to my senior year in college. Six months before I was to graduate with my English certification, the dean called me and explained that after studying my transcript, it was noticed that I lacked a mathematics class. The only class available that summer was Elementary Math Methods (K–4); fortunately, it fulfilled the missing credit. I wasn’t excited about returning to a mathematics classroom, but at least I would learn how to teach mathematics to elementary students. At the time, I had no idea how this class would change my outlook. My professor was excited about teaching and excited about mathematics. In the class, I learned how to use patterns, arrange manipulatives, and apply mathematics language for elementary students. But the most exciting part of the class was when I learned how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions. This was something I never did with proficiency during my primary and secondary learning, and much of my mathematics learning had involved me being anxious if there was any semblance of fractions. Yet there I was with a teacher who created excitement and engagement (not to mention patience and a practical, not-yet attitude), and suddenly, that anxiety was gone. For the first time in my mathematics career, I did my own homework. It made sense, and I came to appreciate the practicality and usefulness of mathematics. Looking back, it’s easy to say that I simply shouldn’t have skipped mathematics after my sophomore year, and instead should have jumped into that next course with both feet. But without a teacher to patiently push me through productive struggle, using scaffolds appropriate to me and practical, growth-minded language, it’s not a given that anything would have been different for me in the next course. To this day, I can’t help but wonder about my mathematical journey had I received the supports that would’ve enabled me to pursue mathematics. I share this story because it is an example of a deficit-language model in a school where teachers never considered creating a practical classroom and regarded students’ disciplinary abilities with a fixed mindset. There was no encouragement to unlock students’ potential; rather, just a shove out the mathematics door. Think back to
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skills. Also, think back to the story of Willie in chapter 1. I had asked him who told him he wasn’t a good reader or a good writer. When asked, he merely shook his head. Perhaps no one teacher had outright said anything specific to him, but there is clearly a reason Willie didn’t believe he could learn how to read and write “good.” As your students’ current teacher, you must understand how to use not-yet language to help students engage in the right kind of struggle so they believe they can make up learning gaps regardless of the content area to achieve learning goals.
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