Talking about math and engaging with your student about numbers is important, true math is learned by doing. However, there are countless studies which show that talking about math and numbers can spark an early interest in math and can decrease anxiety around math.
Meet Instructor Julie Radachy!
Meet Digital Media Specialist Mary Johnson!
Plastic Straws and Utensils
This is a featured student article written by CMASAS student Anya.
Over a week’s span, billions of plastic straws are used and thrown out almost instantly slowly making their way into the vast ocean. It might be a small object but it does have a very big influence on the environment. Sophie Hahn, Berkeley’s city Councilwoman, states that “A half-billion straws are used each day in the U.S and may of them end up in our waterways. They are not biodegradable, and there are alternatives.”
Straws are small objects, and when they flow out of the storm drains they end up threatening 500 species of wildlife, and 23 endangered species that live nearby. Not to mention that fish and birds often mistake these objects as food.
In our previous post, we explored the final habit in Sean Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens,” a book that helps teens live their highest aspirations. (You can read about Habit #7 here.) This book is so life-changing, we send it to all full-time students upon enrolling! Today, we’re closing our nine-part mini-series with a brief summary of all seven habits and quick, actionable take-aways our CMASAS students can begin today!
Habit 1: Be Proactive. Take responsibility for your life. For as much as people like to be in control, we also sometimes give away our control to keep from being responsible if things go sideways. In any given day, bad things happen. The sky rain-dumps on your interview outfit, your sister stole your hoodie, the store was out of gumdrops. Covey explains how being proactive (versus being reactive) means understanding that you’re in control of you (and nothing else… i.e. hoodie-stealers or gumdrop-lacking establishments.)
Here’s Seven Actionable Take-aways:
Covey has seven tips to help you become a proactive-master. Over the next week, try implementing one a day, and see how it feels.
Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw
So you’re walking through the wood, and you see a man sawing away at a tree.
“How long have you been sawing that tree?” you ask.
“Four hours,” he replies. “But I’m really making progress.”
You frown, looking at the saw. “Your blade looks pretty dull. Maybe you should sharpen it?”
“I can’t stop now, you simpleton,” the man scoffs. “I’m in the middle of cutting down this tree!”
You shrug and walk away, knowing that if he just took a break to sharpen the saw, he’d fell the tree much faster.
Do you know why geese fly in a V? Because drafting off each other-- much like cyclists in the Tour de France-- and taking turns being the head bird saves 71% of the energy it would take to fly solo. This, in essence is synergy: when two or more beings band together to create something better than they could have done alone. Covey calls synergy “the delicious fruit you’ll taste as you get better at living the other habits, especially at thinking Win-Win and Seeking First to Understand.”
To glean a better understanding of what synergy is, let’s first take a look, in true Covey-fashion, at what it is NOT:
Synergy is NOT tolerating differences. (Tolerance is oh-so-judgy.) Nor is it working independently, or thinking you’re always right. And surprisingly, it most definitely is not compromising. Tolerating differences, working independently, thinking you’re always right, and compromising are what Covey calls the four roadblocks to synergy.
Synergy IS celebrating differences, working together, keeping an open mind, and finding new and better ways. Some of these may seem like subtle distinctions, but they’re all reflections of the hard work you’ve already done shifting your mindset through the previous five habits.
Most people prefer talking to listening. Why? Because when you’re talking, you’re in control. The center of attention. You’re not bored, because since you’re controlling the topic, you’re guaranteed to only discuss things that matter to you. The problem with valuing talking over listening is that you’re very unlikely to learn something new, expand your world-view, or develop deep relationships. “It’s our tendency to want to swoop out of the sky like Superman and solve everyone’s problems before we even understand what the problem is,” Covey says. “We simply don’t listen.”
In an exciting new spotlight segment, students of CMASAS interview faculty members and fellow students! This article was written by CMASAS student, Shannon
Faculty Spotlight: Shannon Greenland
Shannon Greenland is not only a beloved CMASAS teacher and Personalized Education Counselor, she is also an award-winning published author of many young adult novels and thrillers. This week, I had the opportunity to ask her some questions about her life as an author.
Ms. Greenland, thanks for taking the time to answer some of my questions. When did you write your first full-length novel?
Ms. Greenland: I was in my late twenties when I wrote my first full length novel.
