The Success of Wacky Fractions
My sons and I have been studying fractions.
Today, my sons came up with the idea of making wacky fractions. They weren't technically perfect. Some of them were not even really mathematical. They weren't meant to be. They were meant to be fun. And they got us into a study of proper and improper fractions and reducing. They even got us into a review of Pi (we studied Pi for Pi Day, of course). They'll lead us into more studies of more complicated fractions and a more detailed study of Pi. But, for now, it was just for fun.
We were successful in accomplishing that.
Last night at work, I had an interesting conversation with a customer. This young, college-age guy told me, "Everyone gets an education for their own benefit." I politely disagreed, but he insisted. So I told him about my education. I told him the purpose of my degrees. The purpose has never been to benefit myself, but to benefit others - my education degree benefits my sons and our homeschooling. My religion degree and my soon-to-be master's in human services/Christian ministries is all about ministry. He conceded - for "most people," it is to benefit themselves. I told him I believe it all comes down to our definition of success.
I've written a lot about success. My definition is very different than what I have seen as societal standards.
Today, our success was having a goofy, fun time with fractions - even if many would consider them wrong.
Today, my sons came up with the idea of making wacky fractions. They weren't technically perfect. Some of them were not even really mathematical. They weren't meant to be. They were meant to be fun. And they got us into a study of proper and improper fractions and reducing. They even got us into a review of Pi (we studied Pi for Pi Day, of course). They'll lead us into more studies of more complicated fractions and a more detailed study of Pi. But, for now, it was just for fun.
We were successful in accomplishing that.
Last night at work, I had an interesting conversation with a customer. This young, college-age guy told me, "Everyone gets an education for their own benefit." I politely disagreed, but he insisted. So I told him about my education. I told him the purpose of my degrees. The purpose has never been to benefit myself, but to benefit others - my education degree benefits my sons and our homeschooling. My religion degree and my soon-to-be master's in human services/Christian ministries is all about ministry. He conceded - for "most people," it is to benefit themselves. I told him I believe it all comes down to our definition of success.
I've written a lot about success. My definition is very different than what I have seen as societal standards.
Today, our success was having a goofy, fun time with fractions - even if many would consider them wrong.
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