Skip to main content

My Voice 2

I wrote once before that I have a very distinct way of expressing myself. I have a unique "voice," if you will. The first time I wrote about this, I noted that I have a way of doing this both on paper (or the electronic version, but you know what I mean) and out loud when actually using my vocal cords. Well, as it turns out, there are other people who think the same thing.

I'll start with the math class I teach as a volunteer. I think it's a pretty worthwhile program, so I've been volunteering some time there for a couple of years. Now, the experience means that I have a pretty good handle on how to teach that class (or at least I think I do). There's a certain pacing to it, and certain phrases or ways of explaining things seem to make sense to people. The fun part, though, is that with that experience comes familiarity. The staff there knows me, and I feel a bit more comfortable in teaching that class. That means I can be a smart aleck.

Specifically, I have a rule: if you've got jokes, so do I. I ask a lot of questions in that class (I believe in the Socratic method), so it's intentionally very interactive. I expect people to talk and to provide commentary. That means that as people become more comfortable with me, some interesting comments start to arise. Sometimes, someone will just straight up guess at the answer. That's when something like this happens:

Student: "Um ... 1/5th?"
Me: "What makes you say that?"
Student: "Yeah, I just guessed."
Me: "In that case, I guess 1/113th. Two can play that game."

That's always followed by a smile, a laugh, and a discussion of how to actually solve the problem. It keeps things light, but it also helps encourage the students to think things through a bit. I've had lots of them laugh after this and then figure out how to actually work through the problem. Often times, it's just a matter of talking it through.

The other fun one that I throw out a lot looks like this:

Me: "So here's the second way to do this. Which way do you like better?"
(the students all pick one)
Me: "Okay, so I'm not gonna lie, I like this way. There's fewer steps, and I'm lazy. I'm not trying to do more work than I have to."

Oddly enough, that usually leads to more than a few laughs. Weird.

Regardless, that's how things go in my class. We all usually end up learning something, and people tend to have a little bit of fun while we're at it. That was the part that amazed me the most: I've had people tell me that the math class was actually fun. I'm going to have to keep using this voice of mine. I might need help from one of them as a CPA or something ten years from now.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New York City Trip (Day 3)

By the third day of the trip, I was tired enough from the previous day's adventures/subway rides that I felt like sleeping in. And sleep in I did. I think I woke up at something like 11:30 or noon. Of course, that meant that a later start to the day, which started the vicious cycle all over again. By the time we rolled into Manhattan, it was about two in the afternoon. I had tentatively set aside Sunday to see something on Broadway, so we headed over to the tkts booth for discount tickets. There were actually various 3PM options, and after mulling our options, we figured it'd be a good idea to catch one of those. We settled on The Toxic Avenger , which was actually an off-Broadway option. However, we hadn't eaten yet, and the show started about 15 minutes after we got our tickets. Enter the food carts. There happened to be one right outside the theater, and the guy charged a little bit of a premium for the convenience. Still, I was hungry, and I had yet to try...
1 comment
Read more

Moment of Truth

I forget where I first heard it (I think it might have been Descartes), but I have long been a fan of the notion that certain things just have a " ring of truth " to them. If you've never heard the idiom before, the basic idea is that some things are super-true. They are not just true, but they are so obviously true, that as soon as you hear them, you recognize the truthiness inherent in them. I usually get excited when I hear one of these, since it means that I am a tiny bit less ignorant from that moment forward. For the first time in memory, though, I experienced the ring of truth. First, let me paint the scene with a little bit of background. I'd made plans to have dinner with my friend, but we'd agreed to play it by ear. The end result was that we ended up settling on a pretty late dinner in a local spot. That worked out just fine, since we weren't shooting for gourmet, we just wanted to grab some food and catch up in the process. So, we headed out to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

All Good Things ...

August 8, 2009. Over twelve years ago, I started blogging with this simple post . I didn't really have a great reason for starting the blog, other than I wanted to try it out. I wanted to try writing and putting it where others could read it. I don't know, it just seemed like a new adventure to try. Along the way, there have been all sorts of posts and all sorts of life events, but through it all, I kept writing. It just became a part of what I do at some point. It wasn't a matter of whether I was going to write a blog post, it was a matter of when. The Mild Wife has described it as a "writing practice," and it was one of the reasons why I kept writing. Honestly, it's good practice, and it gives me an opportunity to hone my craft. I'm no professional author, but we all have to write stuff in our everyday lives. Why not give yourself reps to get better at it? However, I think it's time for that practice to change. My weekly anecdotes sure kept me amused...
Post a Comment
Read more