4-29-2012

      We are down to our last three weeks.  The students are quick to remind me of how many days we have left.  I’m quick to remind them I know.  I’d like to think the kids are anxiously awaiting a break from all of the learning they’ve been doing the past 9 months.  But I realize they may be ready for a break from me.  As one student put it: “I’m tired of your voice.” 

My students pretending to be water molecules during the math/science day.

We had a math/science family day at the school this week.  Each class put together a booth that would demonstrate a math concept.  Since Monica and I are going to Vegas when school is out, the kids have asked plenty of questions about what Las Vegas is like.  I thought this would be the perfect time to fully explain   probability theory to the kids.

Our booth consisted of a spinner divided into 6 even pieces.  Four pieces had their own color and two pieces shared a color.  So, it had 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple, 1 blue, and 2 green.  A player was to put a marker on the color they thought the spinner would land on the most after 10 spins.  If the color the player chose matched the winning spinner color, they won a prize.  The participants were students from the entire school and any community members who wanted to come, mostly family members.  Our class wanted to see how many people would realize that their chances of winning would be better if they chose green.

My students were eager for a turn so they could win a prize.  Since we had been going over this in class for a while, they knew that by picking green they had an excellent chance of winning.  My students took turns working in the booth, running the spinner and keeping track of what colors that were being chosen by the players.  By recording what colors were being picked, we learned how Las Vegas can afford to pay their electricity bill.  While green was the color picked the most, the other four colors accumulated more picks together.  The biggest reason was because most people never bothered to look at the spinner to see if they were all equal.  Another lesson for the kids: pay attention!!

Getting ready to pull the container.

This morning I was asked to help tow a freight container from the middle of the Yukon River back to the barge landing.  Last November we had a major storm that produced a large surge from the Bering Sea.  It pulled the container out to the middle of the already frozen river, where it sat all winter long.  These are the containers that are used on ships and railcars, so it weighs about 5,000 lbs.  We are trying to tow it in using snowmachines.  They have been working for about a month and have moved it about 2 ft in that time.  We worked this morning for about 3 hours and moved it about 4 ft.  We’re on break for lunch and will try to move it more this afternoon. 

With 3 weeks left, we are getting anxious to see family and friends.  Spending time with family is the number one plan for this summer.  We are traveling through Vegas on the way home, but only for a few days.  My classes’ last project is to come up with a plan for me at the blackjack table.  I told them they could get 1% of the cut if I win over $100 dollars.  I’ll teach them about percentages next year.