Today I was reminded of Gorillas, a game where you lob exploding bananas at your opponent. (You can play a Flash version of the game here)

You are given two variables to control: Angle and Velocity. Get the right combination of the two, and, blam! your opponent is a cloud of red pixels.

Think about that: At the tender age of nine I was working with angles and velocity--not to mention that pesky notion of multiple possible solutions based on two variables in a function. I would not return to these concepts until I was in high school physics. And, surprisingly, by the time I got there, the subject was at lot more difficult.

Why?

Because rather than learning how velocity and angle relate to each other in a parabolic arch--ignoring, as we always do, wind resistance--I was forced to memorize the mathematical equations and computations needed to solve for the function. It was dull and uninspiring. In fact, I really didn't like it. Except for the one assignment where we rolled a marble down a ramp and attempted to hit the center of a target on the floor. That was applied mathematics. And it was fantastic.

The thing about Gorillas is that it is not--at heart--an educational game. The "educational" bits are left off (e.g. equations). So, sure, Gorillas didn't teach me the formula, but it did teach me very high level concepts. And while Physics taught me the formulas and computation, it didn't really teach me the problem solving skills.

I found the TED talk linked from Mary Mimouna's post to be fascinating. In it, Conrad Wolfram argues that we should stop teaching computation and start teaching math.

On the one hand, memorizing the basics of computation and equation building helps a ton when you're trying to figure something out. On the other hand, I think a lot more kids would discover that they love math if it had more to do with exploding bananas and less to do with "show your work" and "don't use a calculator."

The more I hear about math education, the more excited I am about MathTacular. We designed these DVDs to teach the concepts and demonstrate the calculations. I think it's a great balance.

What do you think of the Experimentation/Computation tension?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

The three Ms.

M1. A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the My Passport to India project. We're still waiting for all the money to come in via the mail, and we're praying that we'll meet the goal when it all arrives! Thank you, again, for your generosity.

M2. More than just MathTacular4 has been added to the MathTacular Family. We just launched the MathTacular Educational Kit for the Christmas season. This Manipulatives Kit is not going to be a permanent Sonlight item, but we are offering it now as an excellent gift for a friend or family member who may not homeschool and is looking for an excellent way to reinforce math concepts.

I just want to make sure this is absolutely clear: This Manipulatives Kit is a product Avyx created for a different market. This product is not part of the original MathTacular Tetralogy. Rather, it is an offshoot project aimed at getting the incredible educational benefit of MathTacular into homes which may not be inclined to homeschool.

M3. Malls. With the launch of the MathTacular Educational Kit, I was able to go check out one of the kiosks in a local mall. It's fun to see a product I originally created displayed in a mall.

MathTacular Sign

MathTacular Kit Display

I was even able to snag a MathTacular shirt and got a shot of the kit assembly:

MathTacular Shirt

That's it for this week. See you on Monday! ...hmm... the fourth M <smile>.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

...my computer just don't know who you are.

I got a letter yesterday from my insurance guy. It was one of those "you mean so much to us, we made you a few dozen address stickers with a fun little graphic on them" kind of thing. The trouble was: The stickers had someone else's address on them.

Nice.

I was so inspired by their obvious care and attention to detail, I gave them a call.

"Hi, Luke," said the cheerful guy on the other end of the line.

'Weird,' I thought to myself, 'he certainly seems to know who I am.'

After a few moments, the insurance guy had found the problem. Their office had my information correct. But the marketing database had it wrong. That would explain how they were able to bill me and yet not know my address.

The world was beginning to make sense again.

And, working at Sonlight, I can relate. It would be nice to have a central system that handles everything we do... but such a piece of technology--if it exists--is beyond my reach. And so, I realzied, it's entirely possible that something fishy may happen to you as you interact with Sonlight over the years.

It's not because we don't care about you. But our computers may have no idea who you are. Just remember, like I did with my insurance company, please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We'd love to help!

Speaking of marketing... don't forget to check out the Christmas Sale.

And if you haven't given to the Mission India project yet, you need to do it before the end of today to have your gift matched.

What's the oddest piece of mail you've received?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Please use a #2 pencil and fill in your choice with a complete, dark circle.

1. Customizable learning environment
2. Parent-child interaction
3. Low teacher to student ratio
4. Nurturing environment
5. a through d
6. No Scantron^®

I got thinking about this when I saw the comic in this post.

I'm not a fan of the standardized test. There are much better ways to go about measuring understanding, retention, application, recall... You know, all those terms we imply when we talk about "learning" and "education." Unfortunately, since schools don't have option e above, they must resort to the tools of f.

But here's what struck me today as the image of multiple-choice teen gnawed at the back of my mind: My friends have always thought just as creatively as I do. In fact, many of them are more brilliant than I'll ever be.

So, sure: Smile sadly at the incredible limitations mass produced education demands. Be thankful for the privilege we have to educate our children at home. Consider the many blessings we enjoy as homeschoolers. But do not, do not, stick your nose in the air and believe for a minute that the children in "the other system" can't function as well as yours.

I am well aware that the school system is flawed. In spite of this, my friends have turned out amazingly well.

The encouragement we should take from this, in my mind, is we don't need to worry about our own children. We're giving them so many fantastic opportunities, what gaps and struggles we encounter can and will be overcome with a life-long love of learning.

What have you found makes your homeschool experience great?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester