Robert Ahdoot
Pa, from the "Little House" books, is THE MAN.
Who knew that in reading the Little House books at bedtime, I would draw such inspiration from Pa. His parenting/teaching style is stellar.
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Math videos and learning that inspire.
Welcome to an education blog dedicated to helping us connect to kids, and to all learners.
We all want kids to learn and to feel inspired. Ask them and they'll tell you: the surefire way to make elevated learning happen is to forge a meaningful human connection with them. Before we can address concepts such as math anxiety or other behavioral/learning/technological challenges we face, our foremost job is to connect to students as people. Then we all flourish.
These posts take a lot of time and effort to produce, thus they are not the most frequent in the history of blog-land. To receive new posts privately and securely to your email as soon as they're live, you're invited to join our mailing list at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!
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Robert Ahdoot
- Nov 27, 2018
- 3 min
What goes through my mind while fire threatens to burn down my home
This was the view from behind a friend's house nearby. The fireman is keeping an eye on the fire's potential approach. Nothing squashes the anxiety attached to the rigmarole of daily life quite like the prospect of your home going up in flames. I didn’t particularly like the vehicle of such a lesson, but now with our home intact, I’ll accept the important reminder of how to emotionally prioritize.
The recent Woolsey fire forced thousands of residents from their homes, inclu
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Robert Ahdoot
- Oct 16, 2018
- 4 min
Setting Values-Based Boundaries
Rules are a funny thing. We clearly need them, sometimes for the sake of others and sometimes for the sake of ourselves. There should be a policy, for example, prohibiting people from chatting in a movie theater. That type of rule benefits us, as moviegoers. And I support seat-belt laws, which have significantly protected people from death and injury, according to this study by the NIH. Then this other side of me kicks in. The one that simultaneously embraces mantras like “ma
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Robert Ahdoot
- Aug 29, 2018
- 6 min
Venice Beach, Sunshine, and Math. How this day changed my life.
I’ve been mentally and emotionally processing last Friday’s Venice Beach Promenade math teaching experience, constantly, for the last several days. I knew it was a magical day, even as it was happening. I knew the day was an all-around home run. But I wasn’t ready to write about it, because a deeper discovery surfaced only late last night. I finally figured out why the day was so impactful, so much so that it has permanently altered my life’s perspective. In this entry, I’d l
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Robert Ahdoot
- Aug 14, 2018
- 2 min
This year's mission: #lovemathagain
In times of transition and growth, such as this new school year, it’s fitting to set goals.
I declare: let’s aim really high this time. Let’s get people who don’t love math anymore… to love math again. Let’s face down this lion.
This will be my campaign – my mission. Within the posts over the next weeks and months, I’ll dedicate myself to fleshing out all the ways we can resurrect a love of math, especially for those who currently don’t feel it.
Within this pursuit,
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Robert Ahdoot
- May 6, 2018
- 4 min
Why I obsess about this movie
On Yay Math's newsletter community, I asked our friends to watch the film Captain Fantastic. If you haven't seen the movie, I suggest that you stop reading at the end of this paragraph, watch the movie when you can, then return here and read my thoughts on it. To all our wonderful Yay Mathers, you're always invited to reach out to me directly (sign up for our blog at the bottom of the site) so that I can learn of your thoughts on the film as well. What stands out about this m
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Robert Ahdoot
- Feb 16, 2017
- 5 min
Are teachers biased towards students? Yup.
(This piece was picked up on Smartbrief Education, as does collaboratively on a monthly basis.) Gulp, someone said it. As much as we take for granted that students are graded solely on their work alone, we know in our hearts that our personal biases towards each student can play a factor in how we assess them. If you’re an automaton who’s unaffected by your students’ behaviors and thus immune from human emotional trappings, please feel free to stop reading.
But if you’re lik
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Robert Ahdoot
- Nov 16, 2016
- 6 min
Lessons from Mister Rogers
(This piece was picked up on ASCD Smartbrief Education, as does collaboratively on a monthly basis.) (Special thanks to the Fred Rogers Center, for taking an interest in this article and sharing it with their readers, who also recognize Rogers' brilliance. Here is their retweet of Yay Math's article.) On May 1st 1969, a young and dapper Fred Rogers offered testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Communications. The far less known Rogers made his case before the initially brus
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Robert Ahdoot
- Mar 20, 2014
- 4 min
Confessions of a now-dad educator, part 2
Teaching is parental training ground. Last week, I discussed how becoming a parent has begun to change my practice as an educator. This week, the question is reversed: has being a teacher prepared me at all for parenthood? YES!! In many cases, teachers and coaches are our children's very next line of guidance outside the home. I have had the good fortune of directly interacting with thousands of personalities, both in my classes, around my school, and through Yay Math's onlin
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Robert Ahdoot
- Mar 11, 2014
- 3 min
Confessions of a now-dad educator, part 1
It's different now. My first daughter just turned one month old. While having children was always part of my plan, I never knew how I would change until it happened. When I first went back to work and saw tens, then hundreds, of teens swarming around, something hit me. In my daily/nightly adventure spent caring for, looking after, monitoring, and tuning into my child, I realized that every student sitting before me was once a month old too, crying at 4 am, totally dependent,
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