There is nothing to fear but fear itself…

I have taken a break from my ever-growing stack of marking (it’s currently about as tall as I am) to write this first blog posting.  When I started teaching this year, I definitely had no idea that I’d have my thoughts online by December…how did I get here?

The ball started rolling years ago, I just hadn’t realized it.  I’m a big believer that mathematics should be fun and interesting and cool, because it is!  (This is where my students, along with my own friends, wonder how the heck I’m this cool and still such a nerd!)  In any case, when I was a student in high school, I needed ways to make things interesting, or had to find strategies to remember rules or formulas or details.  I often studied to music – all different kinds from hip-hop to house, from euro and freestyle to indian.  Music is a fascinating application of mathematics and rarely do people even acknowledge that, but I digress.  A lot of the random tools that I use in my teaching to help my own students learn are the things that I created myself when I was looking for a way to learn it better. 

How many of you reading this now have lyrics for random songs that take up valuable space just sitting in your head?  Well, what if you could change the lyrics for the song into something useful, something that might possibly help you to remember an important fact or rule or formula or whatever?  Just think about that for a moment.  How cool would that be?

For years, I’ve always thrown out this challenge to my students to write a math poem, song or rap.  However, most of my students in the past have looked at me like I was either off my rocker, or that I had asked something of them that was extraordinarily difficult.  For whatever reason, rarely did any of them take up the challenge.  Then two years ago, two of my grade 12 students did.  I was ecstatic.  I even kept the rap and here it is for you to read yourself.

A Math Rap (by Sarah Latowsky & Zane Mersky)

Have you ever seen a sequence or series that’s so bait
Or a trigonometric equation way too long to integrate
I’ve gotta tell you then that it don’t get much better
Cuz I’m in IB2 I ain’t got no grad sweater – yet
Until you get a 7 on that math portfolio
You’ll be sitting at home on Friday night and that would just blow
Like the wind in the trees, the birds and the bees
Did you know that they both go up exponentially?
On a graph with a curve, two asymptotes
You can’t confuse binomial theorem with these notes
Numbers that are beautiful 1, 2, 3, 4
When we take our victory lap you know we’ll be back for more
Math, what have you done for me lately
I know root four is plus or minus two so don’t try and debate me
My boy Pythagoras had it right – a² + b² = c² – aight?
Now I think I’ve proven my math skills
I do it with ease, like fish breathing through their gills
So Remtulla, don’t give me any more math grief
Give me a 7 when I graduate and we won’t have beef! 

The little rap that they wrote made me smile.  They were thinking.  They were being creative.  What an awesome moment!  And the ball kept rolling…

Anybody who knows me in the least, knows that I love music and I used to watch a lot of music videos (however, time does not permit me to do so as often any more).  For me, a good song can be a slow song with meaningful lyrics, a hip-hop song with a catchy rhyme, or a house tune with a sick beat.  Why not create a project that merges my love of mathematics with my love of music?

This is how the MMVs (math music videos) were created…but you’re probably wondering what possessed me to actually put this idea into motion.  To be honest, I’m not entirely too sure.  I was excited about the idea.  I thought it would cool and fun and entirely different than anything either I or my students have done.  But just like everyone in the world, anxiety takes over…

I was worried that my students would think I’d gone completely off the deep end.  One of the least desirable reactions a teacher can get from a group of students is when they look at you like you’re possessed by something extremely abnormal, almost as though you’ve asked them to do the unimaginable, the undoable.  You sometimes go back to your office and sit there stunned and wonder what got into you that you, even for a split second, momentarily thought that this would go ok?  

I wondered what my colleagues would think of this idea.  What if they thought it was not manageable or possible?  What if they thought I was creating a project that was too big to accomplish?   What if they thought I was just plain crazy for even trying this?

It’s awful when you have an idea, that you think is amazing, and someone, anyone whether they are a teacher or a student, rains on your parade.  I needed to know that I had people on my side.  I needed my students and my colleagues to believe that this would succeed. 

When I told some of my colleagues of this endeavour, I was lucky because they were excited for me.  My vice-principal, Ms. Gin,  thinks it’s a great idea and keeps asking me when the videos will be ready.  One of  my math colleagues, Ms. Kunkel, has listened to my idea and was happy to see me excited about this.  All technology assistance from Mr. Taylor, helping to get this blog up and going, and Mr. Medved for his continued excitement and assistance with the student videos has been valuable and appreciated.  With so many people cheering for the MMVs to succeed, how can it not?

I assigned this MMV project to my grade 11 and 12 students.  My grade 11 class seemed genuinely excited by the project, probably because I was so excited when I described it.  My grade 12s were slightly more hesitant because of their workload.  However, they all agreed to take on this challenge.  I’m so glad that they did because these kids are so creative and I’m looking forward to seeing what they produce!

You’re probably wondering if I’m worried about the outcome – the MMVs themselves.  Yes, I am.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t.  There are so many things that can go wrong…from technical difficulties to teenage procrastination and everything inbetween.  But is being worried a good enough reason not to do something? 

So here we are – me typing a blog posting and my students creating math music videos…how wicked is that?

~ Remtulla