Math Autobiography

This entry will be answers to the questions posted on our Main blog.

My Math classroom was very bland. First of all we had the same teacher for all subjects except for Music and Art. So our Math class was always in the same classroom. Our Classroom was very boring. All we had on our walls was a section where a calendar was, the time of year, day, month etc and what the weather was for that day. Then there was a big bulletin board on another wall where the teacher would put up pictures of things that we were learning about such as animals or books. But there was never anything about Math. There were no numbers or equations or anything posted on the walls about this subject.

My best memory of Math is sitting in our grade 3 classroom and having our teacher spontaneous announce that we were going out in the school yard to count how many things are the same. I cannot remember what exactly we were learning about but I know I have to find things that were of similar shape, color and size. We were so excited that we tried soooo hard to find everything we can that fitted this criteria.
My worst memory of Math was watching as one of my classmates being belittled for getting an answer wrong. It was horrible. The person was trying so hard to get the material straight. I cannot remember what grade it was but I know it was during the Elementary years. They were having trouble with this certain topic and after being "told off" for being "stupid" and a "moron" I was mortified for this person. And after that I always saw the person going to the back of the book for the answers. They never tried anymore. I know this memory did not include me but the only horrible memories I had was in High school. I was not allowed to continue on to Advance Math because I did not get a high enough grade to continue. My Math teacher at that time said to me that I would not be able to handle the criteria that came with Advanced Math. At this time I was planning on continuing to Memorial to study math as my focus area. Due to this being said to me I felt absolutely stupid for trying to continue on with something I loved but was not good at.

In answer to the question, was I good at Math or not? I would say I was good at Math. I could tell this because I was always able to do Math in my mind very quickly and I was always able to finish more quickly than the other classmates. Plus I thoroughly enjoyed Math. So I was always asking the teacher if they had a more challenging problem for me or if I could help someone else with their math. My last year of high school I had an incredible teacher. He realized that I loved this subject and that I enjoyed it. So he was constantly challenging me to more with it. For instance I remember that I was waiting patiently for other people to finish when he saw me and gave me this complex problem of calculus. It was from one of his old university textbooks. He gave the week to complete. By the next day I handed him my answer. He encouraged me to try everything. I was very grateful for him.

In the primary/elementary level my teachers were very boring when it came to math. It felt like sometimes it was a struggle for them to get through the lesson with us or to even start it. They were monotone and always used our textbooks. The assessment was always tests at the end of the chapter with worksheets worked in. That is the only way we were assessed in Math.

My first of Math in high school was absolutely horrible. We had a teacher that did not know how to handle grade 10's. He was extremely intelligent but just did not know how to teach the subject .He would just give us equations and if we had problems, he did not know how to resolve them for us. During grade 11 it got a little better but my teacher assumed that by my grades I could not do math. But I did it was just tests always made me nervous. Then I would forget the formula or equations. So she assumed that I could not do it in grade 12. So in my last year I went to academic Math and I loved my teacher. Like I said above He was incredible to me. He realized that tests did make me nervous so he helped me get past that. The only year I thoroughly enjoyed Math in high school.

The only math I took in university was the requirement of Math 1050 and 1051, with no electives.

I think I engage in Math for the big parts of my life. I always use it to calculate my budget, how much cloth I will need for making my quilts, my cross-stitches etc etc. I always calculate how much time I will need to work on something for school and such things like that.

I feel that Math is a big part of our lives. It's everywhere! I think that we can enjoy Math and help others enjoy if we take out the monotone, equations written on the chalkboard, sitting in our desks part. I think Math is a great subject to learn. You can use it for anything. How much paint you'll need for your picture, the time in between the beats of the music or even the number of words on a page. It would a magnificent thing if we could get children to enjoy Math.

Response to Sir Ken Robinson's Video

The message Sir Ken Robinson has for me is to allow for students to show in different ways what they know. They can devise a way that is best for them to reproduce what they have learned. With Math we always think that it's equations and writing and solving and and . . . . but what if I could produce a lesson plan that could take away writing and constantly sitting in a desk. This lesson could help children become more engaged in the curriculum. If I could use dancing or musical instruments to help them learn algorthyms and equations, would I not have engaged them in creativity? Am I not showing them to be creativity when learning something new?
I remember, and it's my favorite memory of school, that in World History (I know it's not Math but it shows my point a bit better) we were learning about the start of World War One. it was about the assination of Archduke of Austria. My teacher got us to act out the scene of the assination. I will forever remember how World War One started. But it just was not what we learned but how we were engaged in it. If I can apply this type of creativity in my classroom I will show children that it is okay to learn in a different way.
When I was in school, it was always sit in the desk and learn. The only time we could get up and move around was recess, lunch and computer/art class. But during our computer/art class , it was in a limited manner. We could only get up and get our materials and go back to our seats. We were very restricted in what we could do to show our teacher that we have learned the material. For me I was always singing or humming, tapping my feet, pencils etc etc., it was the only way I could get the information into my mind. But the teacher was always telling me to stop "that racket". So when I watched Robinson's video I realized that as a teacher I have an obligation to my students to let them be creative. If I don't then I am a criminal stealing away their education.

I will use this blog to explore my own experiences with Math, to explore new possibilities in teaching Math to children and also to reflect on my own experiences. I will use my reflections to help me teach my own class. I will learn from my own horrible experiences to put myself in the child's place so I can give them the best learning environment.

This is my first reflection from the first day of class:

During the first class when Professor Cameron asked who liked math, who hated math etc., I got to thinking about my own Math experiences. All during Primary/ Elementary school, I've had really positive experiences. My teachers were always encouraging me to try and solve the challenge problem or to find another way to find the solution. I became to enjoy Math very much. But when I came to Junior high I realized that I never got that much encouargement from my teachers but I got it more so from my parents. After transferring schools, my grades were not the best except in Math. So my mom would sit with me and ask me to explain my Math homework to her. Then she got me to teach her what I was learning. It just made me realize that my enjoyment of Math would not have continued except for the support of my mother and father.

Another thing that latched onto my thoughts from class is the topic of passion. Professor Cameron and from the video were saying to me that because of the "more important" subjects some people do not get to continue with what they love. Personally my intention in coming to Memorial was to do a Math focus area. I was intent on it but during high school my advanced Math grades were not "good enough" to continue with advanced Math in my last year of high school. That in turn affected my chance of continuing with Math while at MUN. Because I was told that I should drop back to academic Math, I felt that I would not succeed with Math at the univeristy level. I did not realize how strongly I was affected from my high school until Tuesday's class.

I realize that I will try my best not to hinder my students the way my Math teacher hindered me.