This Is How 'I' Do

I was recently asked 'How does your method work?'.  Below is my answer, with some references to Michel Thomas, the language teacher, who partly inspired it. Reading through what I had written, I thought it might be worth posting here as an inspiration to others.

Regarding using the MT method for topics outside of language, I have successfully converted his method into how I teach maths. I would say that really, I was inspired by MT to develop my method rather than use HIS method in my maths teaching, but there is considerable overlap.  One thing I would say is that if you asked MT how is method worked, he'd actually struggle to tell you. As you've listed below it's a combination of many thought out factors that make it work, as well as some Je ne sais quoi, and all you can do is borrow as much as possible.

The initial thing that MT starts with would be a structure, or script that he follows, pretty much no matter what. I suppose these might be called 'learning objectives'. However it is much more concrete that that, as it spans the whole subject. For Michel, he decided what order he would teach things and make sure they all interconnect, so that he could use a concept he has taught to teach the next concept. That is something that underlies my maths teaching. In other words, I may be teaching multiplication, but at the same time I'm really subliminally teaching algebra, so that when it comes to algebra all I have to say is…'Remember what we did for multiplication? It's the same.' Students then see the pattern and learn more easily. 

So with my math teaching there is a whole structure and script behind it that I don't have to alter much, through evolution and time with students, but if I need to alter it, there is some flexibility to do so.  It seems to me that school teaches topics at random depending on age and skill rather than in a logical structured order.

My learning environment is always one of a relaxed atmosphere which, essentially, isn't school. Michel believed school to be akin to prisons, and in reality, they are factories that produce people that can pass exams. They still have Victorian layouts of desks for example. I tutor one-to-one, talking to an individual student. With this I can achieve more in a few days than a school achieves in years, if ever. It is a mistake to think it is more efficient to teach classes in maths because there are large numbers taught at a time. The problem with that is that if one student falls behind, they stay behind for ever, and begin to hate maths, also forever.

As you mention, 'layering' is critical to learning. That is why my method is so effective. It is pre-layered. The structure lends itself to repetition of the important methods because they are also used for more advanced topics. For instance, the same method is used to multiply two numbers as to multiply (x+3)(x+2). These are also easy to do.

Avoidance of jargon is absolutely critical. I never use any technical words in my teaching. If any are introduced, it is in relation to the fact that these are needed to be known because school uses them. If I could use none, I would.

Responsibility is vital. I always ask 'Whose fault is it if you don't understand?' and they always say it's their fault. I tell them, no, it's mine, as I'm the teacher, and this gives them a huge amount of relief. HOWEVER, I also say, but whose fault is it if you don't practice the methods and concepts? And they realise they must take some responsibility themselves, in order to become fluent at the methods.

Regarding 'no guessing'. Wow, when students guess, I immediately say 'Never Guess!' Do you guess your way to a different town? If so, good luck with that. Use common sense, and stop trying to give the right answer for the teacher, but instead THINK!

I used to do no negative feedback. Even Michel didn't. In MT Spanish, he has a very poor student who he gets frustrated with because he can't pronounced 'puede' by disc 7. It is hilarious to listen to by the way. To save time and be honest, I just say no. Not correct. But why is it not correct? Rather than tell them why, I get them to tell me.  One way I vary that is by asking 'Are you sure?' when they give me an answer and it makes them have to re-think and be sure. Then I ask if they'd bet on it and so on. It just trains them to not just give out answers at will but actually think first.

Regarding what the learner knows, this is easy for me to do as I follow a script that has a hierarchy. At the start of a new session I will revise what we've done by eliciting it from the student. If the answers are satisfactory, we can move on with new material. Otherwise that foundation needs shoring up some more. That is fine. Different students move at different speeds, and it's important to tell what they are as soon as possible.

Distractions

'I wish I could somehow
Go back in time, and maybe listen to my own advice'

Little Mix

If you had the choice of half a box of chocolate right now, or a full chocolate box in 2 weeks, which would you choose?

How about if you had a choice of half a box of chocolate in one year, and a full box in a year and two weeks?

Which then?

For the former, most people admit they would give in to temptation now, instead of waiting 2 weeks.  Especially if it was in front of them all of the time.  Imagine the aroma, the thought of the taste.  

For the latter, most people would say ‘I could wait that extra 2 weeks!’.  Why?  

“Because in the future, we are wonderful people!”  Dan Ariely

My latest blog is about how we live in the present.  Something we are very much encouraged to do - carpe diem and all that.  The past is gone, all you have is now.  This is great.  

 However it doesn’t help us with our goals.

We all have goals.  We set them to achieve them.  But... we don't have the tools to succeed for difficult goals, because your main decision-maker, you, lives in the present.  This leads to abject failure and self-loathing, in extreme cases.

Think about what you would say to your old self.  Say from ten years ago.  If you could give that person advice, what would you say?  That makes your current self, your ‘future-self’ in their eyes.  This future-self has all the answers and knows exactly what to do to succeed.  Do we listen to this person?  Of course not!

Enjoying your present leads to a great past.  Working hard in the present leads to an enjoyable future.

We have to look back from our future self.  Learn to listen to future self and not present self.  Present self lives on impulse.  Future self condones self-discipline.

The secret of success - achievement of goals -  is to listen to your future self only.

In the present we say

• I don't want to go to the gym
• I'll eat that doughnut
• I enjoy smoking, why quit?

Too often we wait until our present is miserable by something out of our control like illness. THEN we do something about it.

God and the doctor we like adore,
When in danger, but not before

Whereas if your future self was around, in charge, you'd have a tough regime to follow of daily gym sessions, fantastic diet, daily study of your most self-improving subject area, mastery and practice of that musical instrument you've always wanted to play, and that bucket list will have some ticks on it, instead of blanks.

Would that give you a happy present?  No, you'd be permanently exhausted!  So a balance must be struck.  At the moment, present-self is in total charge and the balance is all in his favour.  

Make him relinquish some of that power.  Listen to your future-self at least half the time.  Now you're aware - have a listen.

What would your future self say?  That's easy. What would you say to yourself of ten years ago?

Like in the song, what would you say if you could go back in time and listen to your own advice?

Whatever that is will be what your future self in 10 years would say to you right now!  

Whatever it may be, you have to listen to your own advice and follow it.

Is it do that course you always wanted?

Is it get to the gym and get into real shape?  Run a marathon?  Ten?  

Whatever it may be, and it will be personal to you, your future self is telling you to do it, just like you would tell your old self from 2, 5 or 10 years ago.

What's your greatest achievement?

Your future self would probably beg you to improve yourself, to do your best at everything, because he knows something you don’t.  You can be sure of that, because you would have acted differently in the past if you knew then what you know now, right?

To quote that song again

“Wish that I knew back then, what I know now.”

Once we’ve decided we must listen to our language very carefully.  I’ve calculated the percentage probability of a completion of a task from our statements about it.  Here are some below.

‘I hope I can do it’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 0.1%

‘I’ll try to do it’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 0.5%

‘I’m thinking of doing it’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 0.9%

‘I’m going to do it’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 1.4%

‘I’ll do it tomorrow/later/in the future’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 2%

‘I want to do it’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 4%

‘I’m doing it’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 97%

‘I did it’ - Percentage Probability of Completion = 100%

Make sure you only use those last two in your language.  A friend of mine said to me ‘I’m thinking of going for a run later...’ The next day, I knew the answer, but I asked anyway.  Of course he didn’t go.

To do lists are useless as they are just a version of these statements.  You need to write a 

‘I AM DOING’ list and then just follow it.

For me, I'm writing my maths e-books I have promised myself for over 2 years.  At last!  I believe it's a great method for understanding maths easily.  But locked in my mind it's not so great.

Colonel Chris Hadfield, Commander of the ISS and all-around awesome dude has this advice:

Don’t look back, that’s not where you’re going.  True, but have a look to see what you would have told yourself.

The power of negative thinking, where you think about all the possible bad things that can happen, act to do something about them, and remove your worries.

Sweat the small stuff (take care!)


Maintain attitude - keep going towards your goal, no matter what the distractions.

Sugar Sugar

         The science and joy of eating a banana 

"A taste of honey, tasting much sweeter than wine..." 

                    A Taste of Honey, The Beatles 1962 

What are cucumbers made of? 

Rainwater. 

They are 96% water, and where does that come from?  

Rain.   

They are Nature's perfect package of water, fibre and energy. 

Fruit and especially bananas, the point of this article, are similar.  Some have very high water content, as well as sugar content.  This sugar, fructose, is a natural sugar, which gives us energy.   The fibre in the fruit that comes with it too prevents the fructose going into our system too quickly and giving an insulin spike.  It is perfectly designed for our bodies.  Or our bodies are perfectly designed for fruit, whichever way you want to look at it. 

However, if we look at modern methods of food processing, such as sugar production, we see it's an extremely long and unnatural process.  It reminds me of large scale drug production.   

 

Drug Production on a Grand Scale - Massecuite = molasses

Most importantly, all fibre is removed during the process.  This means we're having pure sugar, sans fibre, going into our systems when we consume it, which produces an insulin spike.  The body goes into overdrive and if it can't use the sugar as fuel immediately, it will store it as fat.  This is all ok if you don't eat much sugar.   

However, these days avoiding sugar is extremely difficult.  For example, which has more sugar in it?  A bottle of 500ml 'full fat' Coke, or a 500ml glass of freshly squeezed orange juice?  The answer is...exactly the same.  Up to 50g of sugar (or 12 sugar cubes) in each. 

And because orange juice is squeezed, the fibre is removed.  As a result it is as bad for you as Coke!  Yet it is marketed as being healthy.  Another example is the ironically named Innocent smoothies (or smoothies in general).  They can have large percentages of sugar in them, and again, without that fibre in them. 

Check the label of your favourite foods.  You may be surprised (as I was) to discover the sugar content can be significant. 

Breakfast cereal?  50% sugar per serving!  Would you eat 6 sugar cubes for breakfast?  That's what we consider normal now. 

Low fat foods are made low fat by simply removing the fat.  But, then they taste horrible.  So sugar is injected, making them more unhealthy! 

The large majority of food is processed and inserted with sugar.  Which was also processed. 

This may go some way to explaining our 'obesity epidemic'.  Maybe people are just eating too much sugar, especially hidden sugar, they didn't realise was there.  For most people this is just normality.  Watch this video of a couple who cut out sugar completely for four weeks.... and see if you recognise the man afterwards.  And this with zero exercise. 

We focus on fat content with foods, but the main concern is with sugar content, because that stuff is rocket fuel.  This means that fat in food is nowhere near as dangerous as has been made out.  So the good news is that you can go back to drinking whole fat milk and enjoying butter.  Did you know that whole fat milk is delicious?  After drinking semi-skimmed for 20 years I had forgotten.  All a load of wasted time. 

So my new diet is NO SUGAR!  I can eat anything else I want, but the daily sugar intake must be 15g or less.  This will mean that, in theory, the body will look to use fat for fuel and will lose weight as a result.  To ensure this works, I'm going to need to maintain a low-ish carbohydrate intake of around 120g a day.  But just stopping sugar intake is a great start.   

So what alternatives are there to sugar?  Fruit is great.  It contains fructose, but the fibre offsets that to allow us to eat it without worry.   

You'll stop eating sugary foods as you lose the taste for it.  One good example is chocolate.  As an experiment I gave my daughter some chocolate.  She's a total chocaholic and her hand moved that chocolate to her mouth like lightning.  Then she tasted it.  I had given her 85% cocoa chocolate.  Of course she hated it.  'Ugggghhh!!'   

But that is what chocolate truly tastes like.  Milk chocolate is loaded with well, milk, and sugar.  This makes chocolate, which is horrible, because it is a drug, and we hate the taste of all drugs, to be palatable to us.   

"A spoonful of sugar, helps the medicine go down..." 

That's why we drink spirits with mixers.  After years we can work ourselves up to drinking a spirit 'neat'.  It's all down to an acquired taste.  We can even build that up with dark chocolate if we really wanted to.  Tea is another example.  Who drinks tea black?  No, milk and sugar sweeten the horrible taste. 

But if you want really hard drugs, all you have to do is look at coffee.  Why, in a recession, do the coffee shops keep on opening?  Because there are plenty of coffee-drinkers who need that hit, and have acquired a taste to the extent that they will down a double-espresso!  Was their first coffee ever like that?  Or did their first one contain milk and sugar? 

So, we've looked into the biology, let's look into the maths and chemistry of banana eating. 

What's the optimum and tastiest way to eat a banana?  There are two parts to a banana.  Once it is peeled, there is the outer dry surface and then inner, gooey, centre.   

In my research, I have found it best to thinly slice a banana.  This means that when the slices are popped into the mouth, the gooey central part is a large area of what is being tasted, meaning the dry part is barely tasted at all. 

Leave vertical to maximise contact with the air

But what is the optimum size for these slices?  Mathematics has the answers.  What we want to achieve is a slice as thick as possible without losing the gooey taste.  What's the thickest we can slice? 

First of all, model the banana as a cylinder.  To ensure a nice taste, we want to area of the circles on the end of each slice to be greater than or equal to the area of the dry circumference part.  If this was stretched out this would be a rectangle, with an area of slice length multiplied by the circumference of the banana. 

The formula for this is calculated by using the number of radii that, if were used as a measure, would fit around a circle.  For any circle, it is always 6.28, or 2pi radii.

The area of a circle is calculated by use of radius sized squares.  In a circle, you can fit four of these squares around a circle, but this is too large.  It's a case of putting a square peg into a round hole.  In fact, you can fit exactly 3.14 of these size squares into a circle, or pi of them. 

So we want the area of the circles to be larger than the area of the rectangle, i.e. 

2 x pi*r^2 > l x 2*pi*r 

Cancelling the 2s and pi's and r's, we find that 

we want that, l < r 

Result.  To put that in English, we want the slice length to be less than the radius of the banana. 

So do we simply slice and eat one at a time?  Or do we slice the whole banana first, then eat the slices?  Why does it matter?  Chemistry has the answers. 

When we slice the banana, the amylase enzyme in the banana reacts with oxygen in the air, which breaks down the starch into sugar, making it gooier and tastier as a result.  If we just slice and eat, there isn't time for the chemical reaction to take place and there's almost no point in slicing the banana at all.  This is why it is preferable to slice the banana, give it time to react with the oxygen in the air, and taste more banana-like.   

So the perfect recipe is to eat natural non-processed fruits and vegetables, high in water content and with high fibre.  If eating a banana, slice it with thickness of the radius of the banana (or half the diameter!) and allow it a minute to react with the air. 

You'll find the same equation holds true with other fruits, such as an apple.  If you eat an apple from your hand, each bite is mostly the outer skin, which has a dry, dull taste.  If you slice it up, the area of the inner, juicy parts increases and improves the taste immensely.  Try it with oranges too - amazing. 

Besides, would you eat a cucumber without slicing it?   

Enjoy!