Mark Trushkowsky

@marktrushkowsky.bsky.social

158 Followers 191 Following

math, teaching, adult education, numeracy, music, movies, gardening, play, beauty

An explosion of multiple types of lettuce
A tall hollyhock plant with at least 21 pink flowers
An aerial view of a hollyhock plant, in which you can see new leaves growing at an angle from the previous one in a way that allows them to “fill in the space.”
A garden bed of lettuces and porchulaca.
A hand-drawn tally chart tracking the sums of rolling two dice from 2 to 12. The tallies form a rough, messy triangular distribution, with a massive column for the number 7 that tower over the rest of the numbers, shooting completely out of the top of the grid.
a rough estimate of a circle graph. The red section (countries with 0-9.9% of the workforce in labor unions, based on the countries on the labels of our clothing) is roughly 30% of the graph. The green section (10-19.9%) about 42%. The orange section (20-29.9%), a sliver at about 2%. The blue (40-49.9%), a little more than a quarter at 25%.
A bar graph with two bars for each category. 0 to 9.9% (Red) - one bar is 7 rows tall (7 out of 19) and the other bar is 15 rows tall (15 out of 50). 10-19.9% (Green) - one bar is 8 high (8 out of 19) and the other is 21 high (21 out of 50) 20-29.9% (Orange) - each bar is one row high (1/19 and 1/50) 30-39.9% - No bars (0/19 and 0/50) 40-49.9% (Blue) - 2/19 and 13/50 Next to the graph is a list of countries with the percentage of workforce in unions: Honduras (2.6%), China (44.2%), Thailand (3.3%), Vietnam - (49.62%), Jordan - ?, India (19.8%), Pakistan (4.7%), Bangladesh (11.9%), Madagascar (7.2%), Mauritius (27.7%), Cambodia (9.6%), Korea (12.4%), US (10.3%), Sri Lanka (10.1%), Indonesia (13%), Mexico (13.2%), Guatemala (3.1%), Germany (16.3%), Nicaragua (5.3%)
A graph with columns of post-its stacked over various country names. Honduras - 5 post-its China - 6 Thailand - 4 Vietnam - 7 Jordan - 1 India - 3 Pakistan - 1 Bangladesh - 3 Madagascar - 1 Mauritius - 1 Cambodia - 1 Korea - 1 USA - 4 Sri Lanka - 4 Indonesia - 2 Mexico - 2 Guatemala - 1 Germany - 2 Nicaragua - 1
Swirling storm clouds
Yellow Lily
Yellow indigo
A patch of purple irises
Waist high, irregular pentagonal column made of stone
What do you notice? What do you wonder? On the top row, there are two pink frogs facing right and two blue frogs facing left, with a single space between them. The frog pairs are facing towards each other. On the bottom, there are two blue frogs on the left, still facing left, and two pink frogs facing right, with a single space between them. The frog pairs are facing away from each other.
At the top is a pictorial equation: a pink triangle and small green triangle on the left side of the equals sign and a red trapezoid on the right side. Below are five steps, linked by arrows. Step one has all three shapes from the equation. Step two has the green triangle placed over the red trapezoid, covering a portion of it. Step three has the pink triangle place over the red trapezoid as well. A triangular piece of the pink triangle is sticking out above the area of the red trapezoid. The only part of the red trapezoid still visible is a red triangle. Step four has the pink triangular piece slide over to be above the visible triangular piece of the red trapezoid. Step five shows that the access pink triangle exactly covers the remaining red triangle. This shows that the areas of the pink triangle and the small green triangle together are equal to the area of the red trapezoid.
1. One pink triangle equals 2 small green triangles 2. One red trapezoid equals 3 small green triangles 3. One red trapezoid and one small green triangle equals one large green triangle equals to pink triangles equals four small green triangles 4. One pink triangle and one small green triangle equals one red trapezoid
A trapezoid divided up into 12 congruent triangles. 3 of the triangles are red, together forming a smaller trapezoid within the larger trapezoid. The remaining 9 triangles are green. 3/12 of the triangles in the larger trapezoid are red.
Text: What fraction of this shape is red? How do you know? How else do you know? Image: a trapezoid composed of 5 different pattern blocks. Two pink right triangles are arranged to create an equilateral triangle that can be seen as one-third of the area of the trapezoid. A large green triangle in the middle of the trapezoid has the same area as the pink. A third triangle is composed of a red trapezoid and a smaller green triangle. The red trapezoid and small green triangle together have the same area as the pink triangles and as the large green triangle.
A photo of a sidewalk with two circles. Each circle has six smaller circles inside, colored (clockwise from 3 o’clock) blue, purple, teal, red, pink, yellow. In the center of each circle is a pair of bare footprints. Between the two larger circles are the words “mirror me”
A screenshot of a thread with the following questions: On the water front - Are you having enough to drink today? Do you need anything to wash and clean? Can I help replenish any tears you've shed? Are you staying fluid these days? Are your waters calm, still, deep, turbulent, rushing, frozen, evaporated...? Through the fire - Where is the sun for you? Are you in enough light? How can I help you stay warm? What's burning for you? Do you need any fuel? What spark are you carrying? Is your blaze to high? Do you need rekindling? What's the smoke? From the earth - How grounded are you feeling? What is nourishing your soil? Where are you rich? Are you getting vitamins/minerals? Can I help you stand more firmly? Are you eating your veggies? When was your last rest? Do you need to lay down? In the air - Have you taken a breath? What's inspiring you? Have you felt the wind/breeze? What's in your wings/sails? Can I help you stay afloat? What do you need to fly? What whisper would you like to hear?
“Hold on, hold on, my dear ones, here comes the dawn.”
“Oh in the great unraveling, I love you.”
“Only through heartbreak did I learn to shake, And the strength And the depth Of my heart.”
Repugnant Twitter posts from the Department of Homeland Security: “Want affordable housing? Help report illegal aliens [sic - their dehumanizing language] in your area. Call [number scratched out]. If you are an illegal alien, you can take control of your departure using”
A photograph of an aloe plant that is older than the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
A map of the United States that shows all of the cities within a 100-mile of the border. Text reads: Nearly 2 out of 3 people live within the 100-mile border zone.
A circle graph showing the the percentage of undocumented residents in the United States estimated to live in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area: 0.7% Sources: - 14 million undocumented people estimated to be in the United States. (https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/) - The Minneapolis/St Paul metro area is estimated to have 95,000 undocumented people. (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/).
The 7 House Democrats who voted with 213 Republicans to fully fund DHS and give ICE $10 billion dollars. The final vote was 220-207. Had these 7 voted against authoritarian overreach and stood with the US Constitution, the bill would have been defeated 214-213. Tom Suozzi (NY), Henry Cuellar (TX), Don Davis (NC), Laura Gillen (NY), Jared Golden (ME), Vicente Gonzales (TX), and Marie Glusenkamp Perez (WA)
Numberless area graph. First image in a slow reveal graph sequence.
Numberless circle graph/pictograph. First image in a slow reveal graph sequence.
Numberless map graph. First image in a slow reveal graph sequence.
Numberless map graph. First image in a slow reveal graph sequence.
Numberless area graph. First image in a slow reveal graph sequence.
Numberless line graph. First image in a slow reveal graph sequence.
Numberless bar graph - first image from a slow reveal graph sequence
Quote from Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary FM for Public Affairs: “At one stop, individuals in the crowd thee food at the agents. At their final gas station stop, someone spit at an agent. When an agent moved to detain the person who spit on him, the crowd tackled and attacked the agents while surrounding them. To safely clear the area agents had to use crowd control measures to disperse the hostile crowd.”
Dark green residue in the snow, partially covered by a cardboard sign.
A messy ZOOM whiteboard of thinking visualized, exploring the patterns in the table, making and testing conjectures and partially answering the question. The work generally moves from top to bottom. The culmination thus far is the 1000 does appear in the 8 row (not 8th row). The final sentence is "Upwards and onwards to a generalization to figure out the column!"
A table of numbers. Consecutive odd numbers across the top. Reading left to right: 1, 3, 5, 7... The left column is made up of powers of 2 going down. Reading: 1, 2, 4, 8,... The table can be completed by multiplying the odd numbers across the top by the powers of 2.
Red and green aurora lights
Green aurora lights in the sky
Brandee Younger Trio at the Dakota with Rashaan Carter on bass
A grid drawn over figure 13 resulting in an area of 60 sq units, which is the same area as the rearranged figure created with the corners of Figure 11.
Figure 11 (area of 60 squares units). A grid made from connecting the center points of Figure 11.
The area of the blue is 11 + 9 + 9 + 7 + 7 + 5 + 5 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 61 squares The area of the corners (orange) is 10 + 10 + 8 + 8 + 6 + 6 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 60 squares Again, the area of the blue is a little more than half the area of the entire square, and the area of the orange is a little less.
On the left, a blue figure with an area of 41 square units, arranged in centered columns 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1. On the right, the same figure, imbedded in a 9x9 square, with the same 41 squares in blue, plus 40 green squares (10 in each corner, arranged as stairs 4, 3, 2, 1)
Two shapes. On the left, an area of 41 squares. One way to describe them is in 9 vertical columns, with 1 square, 3 squares, 5 squares, 7 squares, 9 squares, then 7, 5, 3, and 1. The figure on the right can be described as a similar figure, rotated 45 degrees, except the columns would be arranged 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1.
The quote: “All flourishing is mutual” from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, above two hands filled with seeds, all created using seeds.
A portrait of a goat, created from seeds (natural colors)
A portrait of Clara Bow, made with seeds
A black quilt with rectangular panels of bright colors.
Quilt made of of squares of different blues and greens and brown and whites.
Four glass-enclosed frames with space at the top for dropping in a bean to vote for one of the categories. The categories: Grow Relationships, Give Time, Spend Local, & Share Knowledge. Each category has different heights of beans that have been added.
Oats
Three circles—one orange, one blue, one green—in a sign for mother earth gardens in Longfellow neighborhood at dusk.
89 year old Ghanaian afrofunk legend Ebo Taylor with a band that included at least 3 of his sons (on bass, keys, and guitar). Also pictured is a tight horn section of trombone and trumpet.
Concrete cubes in shadow and light in the desert
A screenshot of a page from the official website of the US Department of Education, with the url: enddei.ed.gov The text reads: "Schools should be focused on learning. The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination. This submission form is an outlet for students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for investigation."
A colored center square rgb(88,123,166) A colored inner frame rgb(0,13,123) A colored outer frame rgb(96,0,60)