Falling Down Hurts: How My New Covid Hobby is Helping Me Teach Math

I bought a unicycle in June 2020.  The Covid lock down encouraged me to do this. Then a couple of weeks later I bought a different size unicycle because each has it's own unique speed and handling abilities.  I have spent the last month and a half learning how to ride them.   It has been an amazing journey as I think of all the parallels to teaching high school math.  Here are my big takeaways.

1.  Why am I doing this?
As a unicyclist...
The biggest question I get when people ask me about unicycling is "why?"  My answer is that I have always loved cycling and I have always been intrigued about unicycling.  Why not start now, during the pandemic?  Interestingly, I have a lot of people communicating with me when I ride my unicycle.  Things like, "Great work" or "That looks tough" but also I get "Where is the other wheel?" or something with the word "circus" in it.  I'm not doing it for the attention I'm getting, however, I find that it is certainly is a conversation piece.
As a teacher....
Students are not given a choice whether or not to take math.  We as teachers need to build the case FOR mathematics.  We need to inform students of some of the good reasons why they should have a desire to do mathematics.  We should allow the question of "Why am I doing this?".
I'm gonna try this... 
Take a whole day at the beginning of the year and ask students to consider the WHY behind taking their math class.

I bought one Unicycle and then another a couple of weeks later.  The different size changes the speed and handling My two unicycles

2.  I am going to fall down.
As a unicyclist...
I fell hard today when I was riding.  Both of my elbows have scrapes on them.  UGH!  All it took was a loss of concentration for a second and bam, I was on the ground.  It happened when I was on an asphalt path and I had just passed a person who was walking and had said, "Good job." Embarrassing...yes.  But the hardest part was getting back on the unicycle.  I did and ended up riding 6 miles today.  Most falls are not all the way to the ground.  I usually fall off right on my feet.
As a teacher....
Anything worthwhile involves struggle.  Productive Struggle.  We will all fall down at points in our journey.  This step is overlooked in math classes.  Teachers and students like to AVOID STRUGGLE.  We try to do everything we can to help students miss the difficult stuff.   We must do better.
I'm gonna try this... 
Embrace struggle as a teacher.  I'd like to try to have a student give the class (and me) a math question that we do not know answer to ahead of time.  Then I can model the steps for trying to solve the problem.

My first day on the unicycle

3.  Going straight is easy; trying to turn is difficult.

As a unicyclist...
I can go straight fairly easily now.  As a matter of fact, if I'm on a flat surface and do not have to turn, I'm golden.  I learned in a parking lot and found I could go whatever direction I wanted but usually went straight.  However, when I have to turn on command, I'm in trouble.  Bumps are another problem.  If there is a bump in the road, or a small incline, it is much harder to ride.  So now on my unicycle rides I have been making small challenges for myself.  For instance, instead of going straight, I will incorporate a 90 degree turn or ride up a curb or even through the grass.
As a teacher....
We have to challenge our students to try hard things.  Things that are difficult are memorable, and things that are easy we tend to forget.  We need to work with students to set and achieve small goals that would be difficult but not impossible to accomplish.
I'm gonna try this... 
I'd like to give my students a choice as to which option of difficult problems they want to tackle.

After two weeks of practice

4.  Videos helped, but mostly I needed to try on my own.
As a unicyclist...
I looked at a beginner unicycle video before I started.  I was OVERWHELMED!  So I just had to get out there and try riding.  After my initial outing, I went back to my beginner YouTube video and gleaned some new information. This has been my pattern, even now. 
As a teacher....
I talk too much.  The more I talk, the less my students get to practice problem solving on their own.  The more I talk, the less I can give feedback to individual students.
I'm gonna try this... 
Give a SHORT INTRO VIDEO then have students TRY A PROBLEM ON YOUR OWN (with automated feedback)... then GIVE MORE VIDEOS.  Don't overwhelm my students with a big, long video explaining everything.  This is not going to stick and most of your students will be bored out of their minds.

After seven weeks of practice

I'm still learning to ride a unicycle.  I thought when I was just beginning that I would arrive at some point and just be good at it.  I'm realizing that unicycling/learning is a journey that the destination keeps changing as you get better.  This is the fun of learning.  We will never really arrive.  I didn't magically learn how to ride a unicycle just like we don't magically 'get' math.  The process of learning means that we will be falling down a lot.  I'm ready for this challenge because I know why I'm doing this.  Learning is fun and rewarding.  And the next time I'm trying to do something other than go straight ahead, I will try to do something that is more difficult than I'm comfortable with.