Sorting Socks

One of the most frustrating parts of my parenting is disappearing socks, never both (well now that I think about it… they could both disappear… but I wouldn’t actually notice... and I would actually prefer this to be the case if I am being honest)!

In our laundry we have an odd sock collection that grows with each wash. Sporadically I decide enough is enough and I enlist some ‘volunteers’ to match the odd socks. I try to make it a game… the person who finds the most pairs wins control of the TV remote that evening… Gamification of boring tasks is one of my favourite parenting techniques!

Unfortunately now we have reached the teenage years, this technique is less effective!😂

As 'we' sort through the pile, we find matches, but there are always some left over.

I am always in two minds- do I throw them in the bin, or do I play the 'long game', put them back in the odd sock basket and trust that 'the process' will see the matching sock likely appear in future washes.

In this week’s blog I use my sock scenario to illustrate the importance of having high standards and expectations, playing the ‘long game’, and trusting the process in our classroom.

Back to the socks… sometimes when we are matching socks… my kids ask…  ‘mum…these are almost a pair…Can we just put them together?’

Usually the socks are both the same size, both 'Bonds' brand, both ankle length, both white but they have different coloured writing on the sole!

It is clear they are NOT an exact match… but they could be a pair because they are almost identical.

At this point I have to make a decision, do I accept the close enough match, knowing that it will remove two socks from my odd sock pile (which my brain really wants to happen) or do I keep my standards high, so that down the track I can actually find a true match?

A similar scenario plays out in our maths classrooms…

Do we allow students to get away with a short cut, or do we hold fast and enforce high standards?

I thought I would share some examples of 'standards' and processes I set up in my maths classroom:

Mindset Messaging

In my classroom, students are not permitted to say 'I can't do this'.

They have to say 'my brain can't do this yet, it needs more practice'. This simple change in messaging, means they understand that it is not that they are 'not good' at maths (avoiding the 'I wasn't born a maths person' fallacy) and reinforces the critical idea that if we want to improve at anything (sport, singing, playing an instrument, cooking), it won't happen magically, we have to allow our brain to practice!

Routines and Systems

My life is built around routines and systems. These allow me to significantly lessen my cognitive load and ensure I am not taking up precious 'brain space' trying to decide when things will happen or where things are located.

In the maths classroom, we also need routines and systems. Students need to know what is expected of them at different times in the maths session. If they are doing independent practice, what does that look like? If they are working collaboratively, what is expected of them?

Resources

It is worth every second you spend teaching students how to pack up resources. Where do I find dice? Where do unifix blocks live? How do we neatly pack up the Base 10 blocks? How do I put my playing cards back in their packet? I see these lessons as part of the 'long game'. It seems like you are wasting time, but you will save time over and over throughout the year with these systems in place.

Bookwork

Having expectations around what your student's bookwork will look like is important. Taking time to show them how to record their thinking in a neat and ordered way will set them up for success in many areas, but particularly as they move into Secondary school maths classrooms.

Cheating

Students often like to push the boundaries and 'cheat' in maths. For example, they might copy an answer from the person sitting next to them. I always tell students up front that if they cheat, they are only cheating themselves. 

As the teacher, one of the only ways I can tell if a student needs further scaffolding is if I can see they have responded inaccurately. If a student 'cheats', I often won't be able to recognise that they don't understand the concept, so I won't be able to help- they are cheating themselves out of help. In the same way cheating removes the opportunity for a student to challenge their brain to think and learn from their mistakes, again cheating themselves!

In my experience, talking this through with the class, almost entirely eliminates cheating.

Comparions

My class (and home) is a 'self-comparison only zone'. There is nothing to be gained from comparing yourself with someone else. Everyone is at a different point in their learning journey. 

My son said to me last week after his soccer training. 'I am better than x at kicking goals'. I replied 'I actually don't care that you are better than him. There will always be someone better and someone worse than you at everything in life. Comparisions are only useful when they are about yourself. So if you say to me, 'I am better than last week at kicking goals because I practiced this week' that is the type of comparison that is useful! It is all about improving yourself.

This week I encourage you to think about the expectations, routines and systems you have in place in your maths classroom. Play the 'long game', trust the process and it will pay off with your students (and also with your socks).

And, just to summarise, if you live in my house and are a sock, be sure to run away with your partner, because it will be a clean getaway! Otherwise, understand you will spend your days in the odd sock basket waiting for your 'other half' to reappear, because your owner upholds the highest of sock matching standards!

Have a great week!

Ange🎓🎲

 P.S. You can download the PDF version of this blog to print or share with colleagues here.