As discussed in Building Thinking Classrooms , many students in math classrooms are afraid of and unable to effectively answer problem-solving questions. When provided with a problem to solve, students wait for the teacher's instruction and guidance rather than working out the solution on their own. Many students today have math anxiety and are afraid to fail. Even when a grade is not being assigned to a problem, they aren't willing to take risks and make mistakes when it comes to solving a problem that they haven't seen before. This webinar raises the question: how can we as teachers create students who aren't afraid to problem solve? How do we build thinking classrooms? One of the ways to do this is by moving away from typical lecture-style lessons where the teacher writes down formulas and solutions on the board and the students simply copy them down. This allows students to "learn" material without actually understanding it or retaining knowledge of it.
With tax season at its peak many people are wishing they had the skills and know-how to file their own return without the need to pay an accountant or purchase a software to do it for them. If taxes are such an essential part of adult life, why don't we learn them in school? The answer is: you can but you aren't required to . This is something that I was surprised to learn throughout my time as a student as well as in my exploration of the Ontario Mathematics Curriculum during my time in the Teacher Education Program. There are courses offered, such as MEL4E: Mathematics for Work and Everyday Life that provide the necessary knowledge needed for topics such as taxes, budgeting and interest that are key skills to have for everyday life. Despite the huge benefit that taking a class like MEL4E would have, it is often stigmatized and seen as a course for students who don't excel at math or won't need math for their future education. How strange that we categorize our st