This week I took part in my first two Math for America classes and they were both incredibly awesome.
For each session, I went to a very nondescript office building at 915 Broadway where they have offices on various floors. The elevator ride was uneventful but at their offices I was greeted by friendly employees of MfA welcoming me to my session. I signed in and went to their lounge area that had mounds of amazing-tasting pizza sitting on the counter. Behind the lounge sits a kitchen with a refrigerator stocked with cans of soda free for the taking. There are two or three Keurig machines in the kitchen and throughout the facility in case you want a cup of a variety of coffees (no tea or hot chocolate which will be my one major criticism). There were also various snacks (granola bars, bunny grahams, crackers) piled in a corner.
It's amazing how it feels to be learning in a professional setting.
The first class on Monday was led by a fellow MfA Master Teacher; it was the first of three workshops focusing exclusively on Pascal's Triangle, which you can see below (there is one error - can you find it?).
For each session, I went to a very nondescript office building at 915 Broadway where they have offices on various floors. The elevator ride was uneventful but at their offices I was greeted by friendly employees of MfA welcoming me to my session. I signed in and went to their lounge area that had mounds of amazing-tasting pizza sitting on the counter. Behind the lounge sits a kitchen with a refrigerator stocked with cans of soda free for the taking. There are two or three Keurig machines in the kitchen and throughout the facility in case you want a cup of a variety of coffees (no tea or hot chocolate which will be my one major criticism). There were also various snacks (granola bars, bunny grahams, crackers) piled in a corner.
It's amazing how it feels to be learning in a professional setting.
The first class on Monday was led by a fellow MfA Master Teacher; it was the first of three workshops focusing exclusively on Pascal's Triangle, which you can see below (there is one error - can you find it?).
We worked in groups to brainstorm as many kinds of patterns as we could find. There are so many and more are found even in recent years (2012 is the most recent he shared with us). I had a very enjoyable session, despite the fact that he had some issues with his technology briefly.
The second session was on Friday, entitled, "Techniques for Staying Happy and Healthy as We Teach." Led by a wonderful meditation expert and former teacher named Jesse Johnson (of Relentless Joy), we had a chance to go through two meditation practices as well as reflecting in writing about various things that we want and need in order to feel successful as people, let alone educators. There were various discussions in which I, surprisingly, stayed mostly silent. I found that in this space I really wanted to spend time on myself and listening to others help a lot with that. Had I spoken up, I think my mindset would have been very different at the end.
I have to say that I was and am very impressed by how MfA treats me like a professional. A number of teachers in the meditation workshop said the same (a few even pointed out the access to regularly cleaned bathrooms!). I can't wait to learn and see more as I go to (and maybe eventually lead) workshops.
The second session was on Friday, entitled, "Techniques for Staying Happy and Healthy as We Teach." Led by a wonderful meditation expert and former teacher named Jesse Johnson (of Relentless Joy), we had a chance to go through two meditation practices as well as reflecting in writing about various things that we want and need in order to feel successful as people, let alone educators. There were various discussions in which I, surprisingly, stayed mostly silent. I found that in this space I really wanted to spend time on myself and listening to others help a lot with that. Had I spoken up, I think my mindset would have been very different at the end.
I have to say that I was and am very impressed by how MfA treats me like a professional. A number of teachers in the meditation workshop said the same (a few even pointed out the access to regularly cleaned bathrooms!). I can't wait to learn and see more as I go to (and maybe eventually lead) workshops.
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