Thoughts On The Journey

I met Karen Economopoulos just before we began our district-wide journey toward conceptual math via Investigations at a TERC reception during an NCTM conference. (Thanks, Dr. Maria Blanton for scoring the JoCo attendees an invite!!)   We talked and laughed about the candy bar, drink tickets, and our accents, and she was so supportive as she brainstormed with me about our implementation plan.  She listened to my worries and wonderings about starting with the 2nd edition vs. delaying implementation to wait for the 3rd edition.  She encouraged me to "just get started."


Now, as our district is a little further along that journey toward conceptual mathematics education, I'm a little worn down by the sheer enormousness of it all...but the bumps and bruises are FAR outnumbered by the renewed excitement some teachers express about teaching mathematics; by the  amazing conversations happening in our math professional learning communities and throughout classrooms around the district.  I KNOW this was a step (or push, in some cases) in the right direction for us, even though it's not been easy.  We've all got a few scars to show for our hard work, but through it all, we've learned that we can do hard things.

As I read Karen's words in this blog post this morning, I am reminded why we started this journey in the first place.  That it's not about new and flashy mathematics at all.  It's about doing what's right.  It's about helping everyone (teachers, students, parents, community stakeholders) understand that mathematics is about a creative way of thinking and that it ought to make sense.

We were so excited to attend the NCTM "Investigations Sneak Peek Session!"
That's another of my edu-heroes, Amanda Gosek, pictured with Karen.
Amanda is amazing and deserves her own series of blog posts (stay tuned)!

I can't wait to see Karen again at the NCCTM State Conference in November!!  Join me (I'll be near the middle, on the end!) and we'll eat popcorn and learn together!  (Note to the program committee... please don't put my session opposite hers!!)