It seems like everyone has their taglines and sayings they quote regularly. The Army has, “Be all you can be”. Burger King has, “Have it your way.” Kentucky Fried Chicken has, “It’s finger lickin’ good.” This started me thinking about education taglines and sayings. There are some that inspire and some that make you think. Some date back to early recorded history and others are from just yesterday. They cover about every aspect of education and pretty much every subject that is taught. The sayings have been made by a wide variety of people from the incredibly scholarly and learned to children just beginning their educational journey. I thought it would be interesting to delve into a few of my favorite education and math sayings to see how they are still applicable in today’s education world.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education." It says what I believe should be most true for education. It is to think! Not memorize, not mimic, not just know information that can be easily Googled, but to truly think! It goes on to clarify not just think but think critically! Be able to do something with the knowledge you have acquired. Use it, apply it, transform it into something that helps make you and the world a better place! We must be teaching students how to use the information to make good decisions and to solve non-routine problems. If a student can take the information being taught and problem solve with it to make informed decisions, then we as educators have succeeded in our ultimate goal. All educators need to keep this in mind while they are teaching.
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Walt Whitman
The next quote from Walt Whitman was brought back to light in the television show Ted Lasso. The Ted Lasso character quoted Whitman saying, “Be curious, not judgmental.” I feel this says something I would hope happens in every classroom at every level. Students should be curious. They should be asking “Why?”, “How come?”, “What does this relate to?”, and my favorite from the math classes I taught for so many years, “When are ever going to use this?” Younger students enter elementary school curious. They ask so many questions. They want to know the reasoning behind what they are being taught. Somehow this curiosity is drilled out of many students by the 6th grade. That is so very sad! As educators we must connect the dots so to speak. Make the connections. Tie the information and skills the students are learning back to the students. Make the information we are teaching the students real and applicable. We must include practical applications for what is being taught.
“Be curious, not judgmental.” – Walt Whitman
Real-world Math
I have friends and colleagues say to me all the time; “I never used any of the Algebra I was taught in high school!” I tell them that is not true. I say that they may never have used the formal abstract Algebra they were taught directly, but they do use the algebraic thinking they were taught more often than they think. For instance, I ask them, have they ever gone into McDonalds, reached into their pocket and pulled out a $10 bill and asked yourself, “What can I order?” No one in their right mind would take out a pencil and paper and write an algebraic equation Let c = Number of cheeseburgers and 1.09($1.99c + 2.89 + $1.29) < $10.00 and solve for c. People must be able to think critically and realize that not only do they have to figure in the cost of the sandwich, fries, and a drink but also the fact that there is sales tax that will be included in the cost of the meal. That is basic algebraic thinking to solve an inequality equation. Yes, it is a critical thinking skill when you must figure out how much you can spend without going over the amount of money you have. A life skill that helps you stay out of debt and/or bankruptcy.
Many people scoff at my first example and say, they have never done that. I then use the example of the road signs you see in various locations across the United States on the roads, highways, and interstates. Have you ever seen the signs that have a picture of a truck and says, “Steep Grade Ahead 8%”? Grade is just another way of saying slope. The sign for the picture to the right is from the Sonora Pass on California highway 108 just North of Yosemite Valley. This is a perfect example of a linear equation students’ graph. This equation would be y = —26x + 9624 since the elevation of the pass is 9624 feet and the grade/slope is going down 26 feet for every 100 feet traveled. Some of these steep grade signs can be found in Indiana on I-69 near Bloomington. Those are anywhere from a 5% to 8% Grade going uphill or downhill. I can go on and on with more examples of algebra used in the world around us that may not be that abstract algebra you learned in school but are perfect examples of how the algebra you learned is used.
Statistics and Data
Another aspect of education that is used frequently is the use of statistics and data. Statistics and data are often the most misunderstood of all mathematics. I always chuckle at the saying attributed to Mark Twain (although this is disputed by many) that states, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn lies, and Statistics!” Sadly, this may be truer than people want to give it credit. This ties directly back to the previous quote. In today's world we need to make it a point to teach students, and remember for ourselves, to be curious, not judgmental about the data and statistics. Ask questions about the data. Be curious about the sample size, where the data is from, bias of the data, and how the statistics were calculated and being used to represent the data. Data and statistics are used for so many aspects of education these days. Some of it good and some not so good. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, being able to think intensively and think critically is so important when data and statistics are being used. Especially when 87% of all statistics are made up on the spot by the people spouting them.
The one saying I do totally agree with about statistics and how we should strive to use them in education. It was told to me, and is not attributed to any one person, and says, “We must be better than last year, and not as good as next year.” This should be the mantra of everyone in education! When we are talking about test scores and data our goal should be consistent improvement. We should strive to be better than in the past and continually getting better in the future. When I work with educators around improving standardized test scores, I make sure everyone is aware that going from a 30–40% competency to an 80% competency rarely happens. People should work hard to make sure they are improving, even if it is only 3–5%. If you grow and improve 3-5% every year it is amazing how well everyone will be doing in a very short time. Improvement and change are slow. They move at a glacial pace. If we are moving forward and improving, we are going in the right direction.
“Are you a conveyor of knowledge, or a facilitator of learning?”
Conclusion
In conclusion, all these sayings and everything I have discussed leads to my all-time favorite saying and my favorite word for teaching. My all-time favorite saying is a simple question. “Are you a conveyor of knowledge, or a facilitator of learning?” My favorite word for teaching in that quote is “Facilitator!” Too many times education is boiled down to memorizing facts and being able to recite back information. In today’s world we have devices that will do that for us. I know when my wife and I are watching television and something will be said or we are curious about an actor, we Google it and get the facts about what we are wondering. We have AI – Artificial Intelligence programs and devices that instantly give us information and facts. What we need from our students, and what we must require from them, is to be able to use the knowledge and information we have taught them and make good decisions! If we can get our students to think intensively and think critically, we will have imparted a lifelong skill that is invaluable for them. That should be the goal of every educator as they develop their lesson and teach their students. I ask you to look at yourself as an educator, are you a conveyor of knowledge, or a facilitator of learning?
