Starting the Second Semester

Today, students at Ypsilanti High started their second semester. There were a few changes in who was in various classes; one of the physics students in Mr. Ambrose's class is gone (part of the Early College program), and there's a new student in that class. In Ms. Colwell's advanced algebra class, there was at least one new face and a few students were either absent or in another class.

In physics, one of the students was excited to tell us that she had gotten into Yale. She isn't sure if that's where she'll go or not, until she hears from other schools, so a few people were teasing her about Yale being her "safety school". In terms of material, they had a simple introduction (via a worksheet) to the concept of momentum. After class, Mr. Ambrose and I talked about what kind of a lab would be useful for momentum. There are a lot of cool things that could be done, but many of them take expensive equipment that he just doesn't have.

In advanced algebra, they learned how to find the equation of a quadratic equation that fits data. Ms. Colwell showed them how to do it by hand with three data points, and also how to enter it into the graphing calculator and let it do the work. She does that a lot - shows them both how to do it on paper, and also how to use the tools they have. Personally, I think that's a good approach; sometimes, doing it by hand is actually faster, or it gives more insight into the process - but it's also important to be able to use the available tools to be more efficient when using it as a means to an end.