“A Change Would Do You Good”

Dr. Ryan Fox and Dr. Bonnie Smith Whitehouse

“RATIOS FREE YOU.”– MICHAEL RUHLMAN

RATIO: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

When you look at the cover of this book, do the numbers overwhelm you?

What are the numbers trying to tell you?

Adapting an activity• We are adapting the activity on pages 84 and 85 of the Hands On

math activity book we are providing you.• You will notice 15 foods on the front cover. We have divided the

15 foods into five groups…• Group A: Pate a Choux, Muffin, Bread• Group B: Pound Cake, Fritter, Pasta Dough• Group C: Sponge Cake, Pancake, Pie Dough• Group D: Angel Food Cake, Biscuit, Quick Bread• Group E: Crepe, Cookie Dough, Popover

• We want to develop a unit rate for 1 part flour. • In this activity, we hope to fulfill CCSS Math Content standards:• Use ratio reasoning to convert measurement units; manipulate and

transform units appropriately when multiplying or dividing quantities. (6.RP.3.D) • Interpret products of rational numbers by describing real-world contexts.

(7.NS.2.A)

Looking back•What’s the same in the original recipe and the modified recipe? •What’s different? • How comfortable would you be in making your modified recipe? •Why do you feel this way?

The Power of Ratios and Argumentation•Ruhlman claims that ratios free you. Why?

•Aristotle would make a similar claim about argumentation.

•Argument can lead to liberation, especially in a democracy.

•Let’s don’t forget BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals for ourselves, our students, and our world) this week!

RATIO: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

How does the cover of this book function visually?

How does its title pair with the graphic to make a mini-argument?

Ratios, Language, Liberation

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.4• Determine the meaning of

words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

• Like cooking, language is incredibly nuanced and you can change your meaning or outcome by varying sentence structure, word, meaning, tone, etc.

• There’s a great deal of power at stake in teaching someone how to use language! Knowing how to use language effectively can be freeing. Similarly, not having access to the power of language can put you on the margins.

From the perspective of CCSS From my perspective…

Enter Julia Child.

Enter Julia Child…• I’ve loved her all my life, but never thought she’d help me make points about pedagogy and argumentation!• The joy with which she approached teaching and life is unforgettable.• She taught MILLIONS of people to love cooking and to have fun and to explore in the kitchen. What a wonderful teacher she was!• How did she teach?• Absolute love of her subject (food)• Willingness to explore and research (more in Bon Appetit: The

Delicious Life of Julia Child)(• Embraced new media (television)• Unafraid to make a mistake or two…• What else can we say about her teaching style?

This sentence happens to be a mini-argument. Think of it as a unit rate!

•“Just speak very loudly and quickly, and state your position with utter conviction, as the French do, and you’ll have a marvelous time!”

•–Julia Child, My Life in France

Exercise:

Group One: Change the tone.

Group Two: Change the verb.

Group Three: Change the adverbs.

Group Four: Change the adjectives.

Group Five: Change the emphasis.

Does this remind you of ratios? It should!

But at the end of the day…• It’s impossible to read that sentence without hearing Julia Child’s voice. Her ethos seeps through. She was so successful as a teacher (and writer and speaker and even as a scientist) that her voice lingers in that sentence long after she has passed on.

• Don’t forget to have fun…• With each other.• With your students.• With language.• With research and experimentations.

She embodies that kind of moxy and fun we all hope we can bring to teaching.

“Ratios free you.” – Michael Ruhlman• Julia certainly understood how ratios worked in the kitchen. But she had to learn!

•When you understand ratios, you aren’t tied to internet searches or to others’ prior experiences… you aren’t even really tied to recipes. You OWN the knowledge; you are freed up to do your own thing.

• Aristotle would say learning the “knack” of argumentation is similarly powerful. When you understand the parts of an argument and how language works, you are a freer person.

• Can you think of other ways knowledge of mathematics and argumentation can be liberating?

Thanks! Bon Appetit! And remember…