I wonder what everyone thinks about the following: "Math has never been one of my best subjects in school either. I think that makes me a better math teacher because I can relate to my struggling students."
Sound familiar?
I cannot believe how often I have heard this over the years. I personally think it is a load of garbage. The best teacher for a struggling student is one with thorough understanding that can approach problems from several different angles.
On the flip side, I have never heard a teacher say that they were never a very good reader, and that makes them a good reading teacher since they can relate to struggling readers. Sounds odd, doesn't it?
I'd like to hear your opinion on this.
2 comments:
The way I was taught Math was rarely based on teachers providing experiences to help me learn mathematical concepts. I remember watching demonstrations and being asked to go up to the board to perform operations. Sometimes I felt lost.
Does that help me as a teacher? Well, it helps me feel compassion. Looking at my own growth and development reinforces my belief that all children can learn.
Professional development (Math Their Way, Theoretical Math, and now Investigations training and "I Get It Math") helps me gain knowledge and skills to teach others. And, the more I understand, the more my confidence grows.
At the end of this year one of my students wrote to me telling me how much she loved Math. She said "My teacher loves Math and so do I."
Math was not my best subject during my elementary years. That was due to the way my teachers in Indonesia taught me. I was fortunate enought to have a mother who was one of the gretest teachers on earth, because of how she taught me. For example, fraction concepts were transferred from reading music when I practiced on the piano, instead of those drill sheets, which didn't make any sense to me. Through the years of becoming an educator during the ETEP program, the various Prof. Devs., iSucceed Math, and igetitmath now, I have changed my attitude toward Math and found it intriguing & interesting, a feeling that I never thought I would develop especially about Math.
At times when people have an unpleasant experience with certain things, they shut down and become really apathetic. On the contrary, I made my bad experiences with math a source of, as Rita puts it, compassion, and empathy, which compelled me to gain more knowledge. This enables me to learn and teach Math in effective/productive ways.
Post a Comment