Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching
by Dan Finkel from Math 4 Love
"Mathematics is not about following rules, it's about playing—and exploring, fighting, looking for clues, and sometimes breaking things. Einstein called play the highest form of research. A math teacher who lets their students play with math gives them the gift of ownership. Playing with math can feel like running through the woods when you were a kid. And even if you were on a path, it felt like it belonged to you... if you want to know how to nurture the mathematical instincts of your [students], play is the answer. What books are to reading, play is to mathematics.
[A class] filled with blocks and puzzles and games and play is a [class] mathematical thinking can flourish. I believe we have the power to help mathematical thinking flourish everywhere. We can't afford to misuse math to create passive rule-followers. Math has the potential to be our greatest asset in teaching the next generation to meet the future with courage, curiosity, and creativity. And if students get a chance to expereince the beauty and power of authentic mathematical thinking, maybe it won't sound so strange when they say, 'Math? I actually love math.'"
