Great Realization
The Great Realization— Tomfoolery— A bed time story of how it started, and why hindsight’s 2020
I’ve started with the video linked above so we can remember to imagine what we can accomplish, even when we’re blind-sided by the unexpected. This video has given me hope from the time I first saw it, and I wanted to share that hope with you.
I work in a school where wonderful minds get to practice their craft.
All beings: children, teachers, and staff. We gather daily to dance, sing, play, write, create. We gather to figure things out. There is a mathematical approach to our artistic expression.
When there is a place that emphasizes expression of minds and not completion of worksheets, then you have discovered true expansion of the growth mindset - for ALL of us, really.
Math.
It’s one of those subjects that tends to frighten people away.
But the reality is, math expresses itself everywhere, in almost every facet of life. It’s most obviously in the technologies in our everyday use. When you’re tired of looking down at your screen, look up and then look all around. Math is in your kitten as he launches himself in the air in pursuit of a feathery toy. It’s in measurements to double a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Math is in the icicles melting off your roof!
Math is in the shapes of the people I love doing headstands with on the beach. It’s THEIR mathematical expression. When you truly think about it, there is so much occurring to create this shape. There’s the physics of balancing on an uneven surface, the equilibrium of the inner ear allowing us to counter balance our inverted bodies, the splaying of legs to create a broader attitude toward symmetry.
All of this invisible movement to achieve an improbable split-second of stillness.
I was inspired to read about Dr. Shenglan Yuan, a Professor at LaGuardia Community College, who founded the project Math is Everywhere. This project focuses on bringing faculty and students together to conduct research projects that demonstrate the often surprising connections between mathematics and other subjects. This inter-connection weaves a web of magic that overlays and integrates to assist, I believe, in helping us make sense of the world.
My favorite way to teach is to NOT be the teacher.
If we as teachers have truly done our work well, then we can allow the growth mindset of our students to explore, discover, collaborate and become teachers. There is a method to this madness, of course, the resume of the teacher is there for a reason. We endure the pursuance and continuance of multiple degrees, licensures, and certifications for the purposes of finding and maintaining our employment BUT the act of teaching rarely has anything to do with our pedigree.
At the core, our job is to expand opportunities in our students to believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and input from others within a growth mindset. To teach well is to help students see that their ability to problem solve is Limit Less. That’s true power.
Math is everywhere.
February 2022 will mark the end of the 222 days sequence in this century.
The sequence, which started two decades ago, will end on February 22, 2022. This month will witness three such dates altogether – February 2, 2022, February 20, 2022, and February 22, 2022.
Recently, we celebrated 24 hours of the palindromic number 2/2/22. (2/2/22 also marks Groundhog Day, Trumpet Day and Aunt Cheryl’s birthday, so it’s no small occasion!) My students and I came up with various ways to practice yoga palindromic style. We performed everything in 2s and sometimes 22s.
Because symmetric numbers are numbers that are the same when read backwards and forwards, we practiced our yoga from beginning to end and then, as if rewinding the tape in slow motion, we practiced it in reverse. Although this stretched and hurt my brain a bit, the students had a laughingly good time with it.
I prefer the numerology of number meanings. You know, the ‘woo-woo’ messages behind math. Did you know that the 222 sequence of numbers is used as a reference for balance, relationships, harmony, love and communication? These special numerics are believed to bring in compassion, understanding, and acceptance among people in our lives and it also allows us to move past tough times. The date marks a new beginning for those who want to grow further from this point and navigate a purposeful life.
February 2022 holds the meaning of LOVE and tells us that we are right where we’re meant to be at this moment.
A third of my school staff have duplicate names. Coincidental? Perhaps (hmmm) Mathematically, it’s 33.3% of our teachers; that’s a lot! (in my opinion). 333 is an Angel number. 333 symbolizes encouragement in making the correct choices in life. (BTW, I love being a teacher. I’ve known since the 2nd grade I was going to become a teacher. I’m passionate about the profession)
As of late, however, teachers are faced with immeasurable political, personal, and professional challenges, which appear to be contracting and compressing into increasingly increments of demanding requirements and unreasonable requests. We are at a breaking point. A Mass exodus of teachers is occurring and it’s NOT just related to a virus (though it is a variable in this equation).
As Newton's third law states, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
As virulent as COVID-19 has been, the adverse psychological reaction of the people throughout the world has been just as powerful. In some respects, the aftermath of the initial variant of COVID-19 has brought us to a new kind of crazy. Our human reaction to each following variant has caused us to become unsteady again.
Going back to the video at the top, if our response to the initial variant of the virus resulted in showing signs of balance to our newly adjusted world, then this demonstrates the possibility of recalibrating for long-term world sustainability.
This is our collective growth mindset mission.
Being Human, Being Kind
Can we Be Both?
Which brings us back around to yoga and math…Yoga is the ancient and traditional science that is designed for humankind's universal well-being and advancement.
Yoga contains 82 lakh asanas in total.
Surya Namaskar contains a total number of 8 asanas woven into a sequence of 12 steps for each side.
Chandra Namaskar contains a total number of 9 asanas woven into a sequence of 14 steps for each side.
-Bridge Chronicle, 21 June, 2020; 5:30 a.m.
kshana-pratiyogi parinama-aparanta nirgrahyah kramah
“The succession of changes (the uninterrupted sequence of moments) is only recognized as distinct moments when one has transcended those moments and is at the other end.”
-Yoga Sutras of Patanjali IV.33
As I bring this blog to a closing, I respectfully request that you take a look around. Go outside to seek the things that bring you joy. Walk without burden nor worry. Smell the pleasant scents and see the vibrant hues. Hear nature’s sounds (regardless if it’s human or animal). Allow Mother Earth to demonstrate how She finds harmony.
Everything around you is Mathematics
I leave you with the Sound of Shape
Watch YouTube video of of sand vibrating to sounds and making geometric patterns in sand. When we chant sacred sounds we create murti or sacred shape. All sound including mantras creates specific geometric shapes in space. These shapes affect us.
