My class has been blogging with two other 5th grade classes about flipped math (I've already posted about that). One of those classes is located in New Jersey, and they were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Sandy. My class was concerned, and wanted to do something about it. They decided to sell carnations at our music concert to raise money for some of the families that were impacted by the hurricane. We were able to purchase $300 worth of gift cards for those families...but that's not the point of this post. I want to tell you what happened after we sent the gift cards to the families.
The teacher in New Jersey (John Fritzky) tweeted to me because he wanted to surprise my students with pizza as a thank-you. We chatted back & forth about where he should order from, and what time it should arrive. We decided to have it delivered after 2nd recess as a snack. My students were THRILLED, and completely surprised, after all that's not why they raised the money...but that is still not the point of this post.
At the end of the day we have "guided academics" which is basically RtI for math. One of our RtI teachers (Mrs. Greemann) came down during the pizza hoopla & was talking with her group of kids. Their conversation is the point of this post...prepare yourself, because it's funny and a little sad at the same time. Their conversation went a little like this:
Mrs. Greemann: Where did the pizza come from?
Student 1: A school in New Jersey sent it to us.
Mrs. Greemann: All the way from New Jersey?
Student 1: Yup, they mailed it all the way from New Jersey.
Yes...he really thought that the pizza was mailed to us.
Student 2: No, they didn't mail it from New Jersey, it'd be all messy...they drove it here.
Yes...he really thought that they drove the pizza here all the way from New Jersey.
At this point Mrs. Greemann is trying (with much difficulty) not to laugh.
Student 3: Don't be dumb, they didn't drive all the way from New Jersey! They called a pizza place here & they delivered it.
Thank goodness, right? At least someone gets it! WRONG.
Student 1: Oh yeah, if they called & ordered it, then how did they pay?
Student 3: They just put some cash in an envelope & mailed it to them.
Needless to say, Mrs. Greemann scrapped her planned lesson & they talked through how someone from New Jersey could buy pizza for someone in Michigan.
I've had a few weeks to think about this conversation, and I continue to be amazed at the lack of real world understanding the students have. It also reaffirms my belief that I need to continue making the student's learning applicable to the real world.
Who would have thought that a nice gesture, like buying pizza for someone, could turn into a lesson in economics :)
That is so true, students don't often have a grip on what is real right outside, and obviously inside, our classrooms. Good luck!
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