quotes to inspire critical literacy...

Something that I stole from another teacher and started doing once in a while this year is quotes. Usually as a warm-up or sometimes in the middle of the period when I feel that my students are sufficiently unfocused I whip out a quote and have the students write a short response as to whether they agree or not, what it means to them, and sometimes I have them reword it based on their interpretation. I try to pick quotes that have some reference to education or math or some life lesson I deem important. I also allow students to bring in quotes they find and offer them up for class discussion.

Although this is not directly related to math content specific to my classroom, the students definitely think critically as they respond to these quotes. We always discuss when the quote was said and who said it. It's amazing how different interpretations of quotes can go also. Students who "hate" math and "are not good at it" and who might normally try to be invisible in my classroom are sometimes the first to speak up and voice an interesting response to a quote. I also enjoy when students look to me as an authority and ask, "is this what the quote means?" And I say, "I have no clue, and does it matter? Either the author is no longer alive or we'll never be able to find him so your interpretation is the right one!"

I will leave you with one that I just used and liked a lot. It sparked great discussion amongst my students...

Education is what most receive, many pass one, and few possess. - Karl Kraus