Musings from Mrs. Galvan

I was a little swamped last week and had to delegate the coding, so a big thank you to my student worker Calyx for making this for me.

Read this. I do want more real life based, ongoing, STEM related projects through which to teach geometry and algebra. The problem is... I don't have them created. I do have lots of mini projects, that are interesting, on par with students' knowledge base, valuable, strongly related to the content, and most importantly, already in my toolbox ! My plate is already full this year with the whole digital portfolio goal, so perhaps I can find just one unit this year to amend slightly so that it fits this model.... Thinking. Image from Paul Curtis.

I don't know much about programming except that it seems to be key skill if you want to be competitive in the job market. Software Engineer continues to be a top profession  both from the perspective of being lucrative and for promoting a nice quality of life, and yet the image of a nerdy, anti-social programmer persists among my students perhaps preventing them from even considering a future in computer science. My students are  not typical middle school kids. The independent school that I work at attracts the best and brightest in Los Angeles. Yet, not many of our graduates go into STEM professions. This report from NPR discusses what it is like to be among the only women in the field of programming. Beyond trying to recruit girls into the field from the practical perspective of being able to get a job, I like how the woman in the story mentioned that programming can also offer a nice solution for the age old issue facing women in the work place: how to balan...

Careercast.com released their report on the Best Jobs of 2013 . According to the website: High pay, low stress, a robust hiring outlook, a healthy work environment and minimal physical exertion combine to define what makes a great job for most people.  The top three jobs, Actuary, Biomedical Engineer and Software Engineer, would all be quite impossible to obtain without proficiency in math. Just saying.

We have two events coming up next week that might pique the interest of future entrepreneurs or programmers: March 19, Tuesday  HW '01 Ilana Stern is founder/CEO of Weddington Way Recent article about her startup She will video chat with interested students during Activities in HC 221 March 21, Thursday HW '98 Jason Fieldman is a freelance iOS developer Apps include Tring , Theseus , Rubehouse , & Rage Faces He will be here in person to chat during Activities in HC 221

 This video is a great introduction to programming. These jobs will be plentiful and they look like fun.Be open minded to a career in programming (or another STEM career). If you LOVE English and history, then consider a double major. Take your time with your education if you have it. :)

I shared this article with my students back in October. It discusses recent findings from Payscale.com about the top earning professions. Twenty-eight of the top thirty jobs requires math! I tell my students every year about this time when we are deciding on which math course they should take next year, to keep their minds open to a major that might require math and to not close doors to a STEM career at age 14. I often share my math in college story. My very first class at UCSD was a calculus class. I am sure my professor was a brilliant mathematician, but he was a lousy teacher, especially when compared to the dedicated and passionate teachers that I was fortunate enough to have when I was in high school. My calculus professor didn't turn around from the board once during his hour lecture, spoke with a heavy accent and wasn't at all engaging. Only after reading the section from our textbook did I realize that he was explaining an integral, something I had le...