Busted!! Revealing the Teacher's Age

Students always want to know how old I am. Year after year, class after class, they're all curious about it. But I never tell.

My 4th graders are currently learning about mean, median, mode, and range in Math, and that requires lots and lots of examples and practice. That can get BORING really fast (for them and for me.) So, I decided to throw in my "age" as an attention getter and for fun while teaching the topic.

"I want you to find the mean of your ages," I said as I grouped them into three smaller groups.

When the group is full of ten year olds, calculating the mean is a snap. Those students had the answer in just a few seconds, so the next step was to bump the challenge up a bit.

"Okay, now I want you to find the mean of your ages and mine."

Suddenly I had every ear in the room, including my 5th and 6th grade Math groups who were working on something else at their seats.

Moving to one group of 4th graders, I changed to a stage whisper, leaned in close to the kids, and whispered, "I am 87."

No reaction, just heads bent over white boards as they began to figure out the problem.

(Hmmm. That was a surprise.)

I went over to the next group and again, using that loud whisper, shared, " I am 76."

With a puzzled look,  a child piped up, "But, wait..."

(Aha!! Someone finally realizes that that age I am giving is waaay too old!!)

"... you told them that you were 87. Which is the right age?"

Surprised pause on my part.

(Seriously, kiddo? You actually think I am that old?)

"I am 76," I repeated, again in the loud whisper.

By this time, both groups had found the mean of their ages plus mine, and hands were going up.

(Okay, so now they're figuring out that I am fooling them about how old I am. Finally!)

I called on a child.

"Our answer is different from the other group's. Which is your correct age, 87 or 76?"

And all faces looked at me expectantly, including those of the 5th and 6th grade Math groups who were eavesdropping.

No cries of, "Silly! She's not THAT old."

Just sitting there, waiting for me to clarify which of the two ages I am.

Murmuring something indistinct, I moved them on to another practice example that did NOT include how old I am, even though there were groans of, "Well, which is it? Tell us!"

Note to self: Continue to keep that age a secret, and don't use an exaggerated age in Math class unless you are prepared for true believers!