Allison Cuttler, reminding me how satisfying it is to read math teachers’ descriptions of their own problem solving processes:

My boyfriend and I spent the afternoon at my favorite neighborhood coffee shop, basking in the San Diego sunshine. I was working on my end-of-year comments when I suddenly remembered the dartboard problem. I asked him to tell me how he had solved it. He looked at me somewhat disappointedly. “Really? But then you’ll never keep thinking about it your way.” At that point I still didn’t have a “way” but a small fire lit inside of me – How could I not have a “way”? Some idea, some line of reasoning? What would I say to a kid who asked me for a help with a problem and didn’t have anything of his own to show?