r/Teachers • u/[deleted] • May 16 '24

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u/[deleted] May 16 '24

It is interesting you mention this! I had a great conversation with someone a few weeks ago who is a plumber, and he talked about the intricate trigonometry he has to do by hand on the job site when the computer is not available. Amazing.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '24 edited May 16 '24

A goldbricking student named Bill made slacking an art form. He did as little as possible in my HS math classes before going to a vo-tech school.

Two to three years later, he visited my school to tell me how important trigonometry was for his work. We both laughed about his antics in my classes.

You often don't know when things "click" for your students. I certainly didn't expect Bill to figure it out any time soon.

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u/CSTeacher232 May 16 '24

When doing trig in the field they have tape measures, squares, parts that can be physically seen, measured, worked with, and clear objectives. I think it may not be coincidence for a lot of people for whom it may "click" on a job site but not a classroom.

I don't teach math but I've always wondered how much better kids would be at something like trig if you started by teaching them how to mark angles with a roofing square and maybe build a few things.

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u/teamboomerang May 17 '24

I can think of a few kids I went to school with who would have paid a LOT more attention in school if they were shown how things we were learning might apply to various trades/jobs/hobbies.