Friday morning and my Year 11 troop into my classroom for the start of period 2.
Spotting me watching the BBC’s election coverage on my computer they begin asking me questions about the election, who won, how does it work etc. and so I launch into a “dad lecture” about the election, giving a precis of each party, how constituency and seats work, why our seat had yet to declare etc.
After about 5 minutes of pontification, a hand goes up at the back of the classroom “Can we do some maths now, sir?”
And then it struck me. That’s how you engage & teach reluctant teenagers: bore them for five minutes first and suddenly algebraic fractions are definitely the better alternative.
Is this the “relativity” that my physics teaching colleagues keep banging on about?
Anyway folks, that’s obviously the way to teach maths.
Nailed it.