How do I get kids excited about math? That’s a question I hear a lot from upper elementary teachers who are having to compete against science classes with cool experiments and class animals, or language arts classes where kids are getting to read their favorite chapter books. Math teachers who love what they do know that the concepts they teach are important, fascinating, and fun, but it’s hard getting through to kids who’ve already decided that they “hate math,” “aren’t good at math,” or think “math is boring.” It’s all a question of student engagement.                               What is Engagement? Engagement gets thrown around a lot. Is an engaged kid just a kid who’s there, and not just a body in a chair? A recent report from the Institute of Education Sciences REL Southeast Lab tries to answer this question, and it’s actually more complicated than you might think. The report de......