Crystal Clear Mathematics in Bomaderry, New South Wales | School

Crystal Clear Mathematics

Locality: Bomaderry, New South Wales

Address: Bunberra Street 2541 Bomaderry, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.crystalclearmaths.com

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18.01.2022 Today is a sad day. Some of you will have read my earlier posts about my friend, Spud (Modesto Melino) from my high school days in Ballina. We shared a common passion for physical fitness. This passion was very largely inspired and encouraged by our "PE" (Physical Education) teacher at Ballina High School. We, of course, always addressed him as "Mr Savage" or "Sir" but he was known to his friends as "Johnny Savage." I have just learned from one of Spud's sisters that today...Continue reading

17.01.2022 I have been astonished! Yesterday, I posted an article about banning computers from the classroom and took a fairly strong (extreme) position. I expected some strong feelings to surface ... some who would agree, and others who would disagree. That response would have been good and healthy :-). However, there has been barely a 'ripple.' Perhaps you could write and share your views or experience. I would love to share videos with my students of the kind that I have attached... here. Such presentations are only possible with modern computer technologies. My concern is that students must learn the basic principles of statistics before they can properly use the technologies and critically interpret/understand what they produce. In a similar way, I think it is healthy for children to crawl, walk and run before they learn to drive a car. It gives them some experience of depth of field, of balance and forces of nature, of effort expended to cover distances, of proprioception, and of the cost of impacts. I realise that there are people who cannot crawl, walk or run who benefit directly from motorised transport, but I think it is beneficial for those who are able to have those other experiences first. Would anyone like to agree or disagree, or comment on how that relates to learning at home or in the classroom (or life in general)?

12.01.2022 I like topologists! These insightful mathematicians think deeply about some ideas in geometry that we may think mundane ... and discover that things are not always as clear as they seem. I describe their approach to my students in this way ...... Someone might observe, "This pen lies between this eraser and that ruler." The topologist may respond (stroking his or her chin), "Yes, but what do you mean by 'between'?" Someone else may say that they signed their name on the other side of a sheet of paper. The topologist (again, stroking his or her chin :-)) responds by wondering what we mean by "the other side." We might explain that we get to the other side of a sheet by "going over the edge," but they would want to clearly understand what we mean by an "edge." Now, before you think that this is too nitpicking, I have something important to share with you. Our thinking is very sloppy when it comes to such terms ... and it matters! Perhaps not to you ... but topologists have been able to create a ONE-SIDED piece of paper. Not only that, they (August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing) did so over 150 years ago ... in 1858. These one-sided strips are now used as conveyer belts in industry, saving companies huge amounts of money each year. The term 'topology' was coined by Johann Listing way back in the 1800s. I encourage you to Google this word and read a little about it. Some modern magicians/conjurers have been known to use principles of topology in their acts. In fact, in Christopher Zeeman's Royal Society Christmas Lecture (attached to my previous post), you will see him explain an escapologist's trick that you might like to try on your friends or family. Please explore and enjoy!

08.01.2022 Now, here is a controversial move in schooling, if not in education! The principal of one of Sydney's top schools is banning computers from the classroom. [Update: After chatting with Dr Vallance, I discovered that the school has been operating very successfully under these conditions for some years now! Unfortunately, the newpaper article was written in such a way that it appears to have been a recent decision. Despite having learned this, I decided to leave the remainder...Continue reading

07.01.2022 Six months ago I reported the death of John Savage (my sports master at Ballina High School when I attended there during the late 1960s and early 1970s). For those of you who attended the school, I am sorry to add that another teacher from that era has also died. My father, Robert Campbell Henderson, passed away on 17 September this year. One of the major reasons that I have not posted anything here for so long is that we were supporting him and mum during his battle with c...Continue reading