Teaching is all about finding a way to connect with your students. Every year, they're faced with a new crop of fresh faces, all with their own unique learning processes. The best way, of course, is to make it so fun that they hardly realize they're actually absorbing the information! Turning lesson plans into games and finding a different approach to tackling a problem is the sort of thing that makes someone a great teacher. After all, it's not a job like others where you can simply clock in and clock out and put the day behind you. What teachers manage to accomplish on a daily basis helps mold our collective future.
That's why I love this amazing moment from a math class so much! I'll be honest, math has never been anywhere near my strong suit. At some point in middle school, my brain decided jumbling up numbers and forgetting equations would be just fine. However, if any of my math teachers had been as dedicated as Ciera Cece Paul from ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy in New Orleans, I might have had a better shot at acing those tests.
Observing how much her students enjoy spending their free time dancing around and making beats, she decided to put it to use in her classroom by rewriting the words to Beyoncé's hit song "Formation." Even if you aren't familiar with the song, it's impossible not to be impressed by how her students recite the lyrics, which now describe the methods for finding the area and circumference of a circle.
Take a look below, and be sure to SHARE this incredible teacher with your friends!
ReNEW Culural Arts Academy 7th graders get in FORMATION
My students love to make beats and dance so I decided to teach them Geometry with a song. Of course my girls love Beyonce so I knew they would be on board. I was excited to see that my boys were just as invested.They can find the circumference and area of any circle :-).#7thgrademath #MsPaul #RCAAmiddleschool #NewOrleans #ReNewSchools
Posted by Ciera Cece Paul on Friday, March 4, 2016
