When thinking about my childhood and math, I feel like the two were always connected. I cannot remember a time in my school years of not liking math, that and music were always my favorite subjects. I was one of those kids who always wanted to be a teacher, and not just any teacher but a math teacher. I have many childhood memorys that always sticks out whenever anyone asks me if I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I remember me asking my parents for my very own chaulk board, and so my dad made me one. When he gave it to me, I was soo excited cause I could finally pretend to be a real teacher. I would set all of my stuff toys and dolls up in a circle and hand them out paper and teach them the math I knew on the chaulk board. There was many times I would redo my homework on my chaulk board.
When it comes to the classroom setting I don't recall alot but I do remember we were set up in groups at tables rather then desks and I remember using the connector blocks to learn how to count and to learn my times tables in primary school and I remember my teacher making it so much fun. I cannot recall what the assessment tools were but I'm pretty sure they were paper and pencil type tests.
I think my best and worst memory of mathematics are almost one in the same. Here's what I mean. I remember when the school system changed over and I was going to grade 11. It was a new school year in a new school surrounded by new people and new teachers. My math course was semesterized and I was not used to the fast pace, thus come the time for the first test came by very quickly, felt like quicker then a blink and well lets just say that first test and I were not friends. I ended up failing it, the first test I ever failed in my life, I was devastated. However, here is where this also becomes my best memory, I was determined not to do academic math and I became determined to not let this test determine what I could and could not do, afterall I had always been good at math, it was my thing, and so I made it my goal that year to get my mark back up and I did, and not only did I do that but I also recieved honors in math that year and every year after. So that is why that is both the best and worst memory.
I think that my math teacher played a very important role in me doing well those last two years. He was a great encouragement when I had decided to keep pursuing my goal of becoming a math teacher myself. I will always remember his enthuiasm towards mathematics and how he tried his best to get the students excited too. I found him to be an excellent math teacher and I have since said if I can be half the math teacher he is, then i'll be a pretty good one. He actually became my supervising teacher when I did my internship for my B.Ed (I/S)
So to end off.. being a teacher is just something I have always wanted to be, right now I am teaching at the College of the North Atlantic teaching transition mathematics (upgrading for students who do not get the required mark on the math placement test) and I am loving every minute of it also I did teach at the high school level for 2 years in St.Anthony. I think my favorite moment as a teacher is that moment when the light comes on for a student and they have their "ah ha" moment where they look at you and say... "Oh now I get it." That I feel has to be the most rewarding thing for a teacher, knowing you helped them realize and learn information they didn't know before and they are excited about it!
I think the biggest challenge I have is making math "fun" and interesting to students who feel they don't get math and do not really want to get it, those who say the dreaded words "I hate math!" This I think has got the be the biggest challenge for any math teacher, trying to get students to see the value in it, when they desperately do not want anything to do with math.
So to end this post off, I think a big thing that can help myself as a math teacher is learning more techniques to keep math exciting.
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