 |
| (Sadly, I cannot find my old TI-89) |
For some time, a TI-89 was my most expensive possession. I bought it in the same year that my parents got divorced and I moved from a small town to the suburbs. My calculator reminds me of the drastic changes I experienced that year in a school that always wanted us to explore things for ourselves. Sometimes this was scary. For example, we had an assessment the first day in science class where we were thrown in the lab and told to figure out which variables affect a pendulum’s swing. Then, we were to input our numerical observations into a table on our calculator and come up with an equation. Looking around me, it seemed I was the only one who didn’t even know which materials to grab.
Math, however, was great. I came in confident in my abilities but unaccustomed to being challenged or interested. Now, unlike what I had seen before, my teachers did not do examples from each section of the book on the whiteboard, expecting us to just copy it down and practice a similar problem. We didn’t have books. We sat at tables. And our teacher mostly went around the room while each group worked from packets that guided us to discover the equations by manipulating things we already knew.
 |
| (My students often stole my phone to take selfies) |
I brought high expectations to college, and my first math class was the opposite of everything I liked in high school. So I decided to switch to just a math minor. After graduation, I worked as an analyst for a few years—even using some mathematical modeling—but realized that was not what I wanted to do in the future. Then one day, a friend of mine emailed me about volunteering for a year at the high school where she worked. I agreed and chose to teach Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Economics.
Living on a tiny island in Chuuk, Micronesia, was a challenge. No air conditioning, few resources, unclear standards, and long hours. Still, I soon learned to love the job and my unique group of Juniors and Seniors. I also recognized how much I still needed to learn.
 |
| (Quote from Significant Figures by Ian Stewart) |
I returned home, needing a sweatshirt in 80 degree weather and missing fresh coconut. Learning more about both mathematics and teaching continually reinforces what brings me to teaching. I hope to be a teacher that helps students find their own path in discovering techniques, solutions, and applications. Like me, perhaps they will find in math not only utility but also interest.
Thank you for sharing. It looks like we had very similar math in high school. We got a packet for each chapter, and during the class days just worked together in groups of 4, while the teacher walked around helping. It seems your calling to become a teacher came out of no where, but it is good that you realize that you still have much to learn. Education is a life long process.
ReplyDeleteI believe your experience in school with your non-math classes really speaks to the experience of a lot of students: reading and doing examples from a textbook is boring. And not only is it boring, it's methodical and ineffective. Most students will not be motivated to succeed in classes set up this way, which is why I think it is important as teachers to create lesson plans that are interactive and actually engage the students -- much like with your experience in math class. This is when true learning occurs.
ReplyDeleteI think it is remarkable and very heart warming that even in a situation with unique difficulties (teaching in Chuuk, Micronesia) you found joy and passion to being a teacher. Experiencing the different environments of learning, is no doubt a great thing for you as a teacher that should help form your own class structure. Your post also reminded me that many times students may be going through personal ordeals that will influence their time at school (like having parents go through a divorce), it's something we should always be mindful of.
ReplyDeleteCatrina,
ReplyDeleteI think is wonderful that you are trying to help students finding their own paths to become successful in mathematics. It is great that traveling abroad and your own experience has giving you an insight of how important is to make material relevant and interesting to students. I can also imagine how frustrating it was to have to switch to a minor in math when that was what you wanted to do. The same thing happened to me.
This was a really interesting post. I can definitely relate to having teachers that wanted us to copy from the textbook and teachers that wanted us to arrive at equations via a guided format. I also appreciated the guided approach more, was more interested and retained the information better. I think that you are in a great position to teach math in an interesting and informative way because you not only know what you WANT to do, but also what you DON'T want to do.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the story you shared with us. I was very inspiring and relatable. I too struggled the most with my science classes, physic to be exact. It was a topic that I couldn't grasp. However, I really like the part about you teaching abroad. I would love to do something similar in my future.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredibly unique experience to live in Micronesia...After clicking on your link, I was struck by just how tiny the island is. For me, your story communicates a really interesting tension--skill in being able to work through discreet problem situations and perhaps a little apprehension navigating mathematics as an ill-defined problem space, as evidenced in the your struggle with negotiating Math in the Science classroom. I think this scenario is often the case. There's a difference between doing math identifying and opportunities where a mathematical perspective helps surface things that were otherwise hidden. There's this metaphor (sorry...I'm an English major) that acts as an undercurrent here for me...the idea of going small (e.g. to teach on the island) to go big (e.g. develop more expansive notions of teaching and learning). Love it...continue to flesh that out, and lastly, I appreciate the shout out to the TI-89!
ReplyDeleteHello Catrina - Thank you for sharing your story. I admire your passion to connect with students through the teaching of math and I think that yours is a really important lesson - not every teacher or learning experience that they will encounter will be a positive experience - Despite your less than great experience with math in college, you were able to make your own way towards a life with math, and even better than that, now you can work to provide students with empowering math experiences like those you had in high school.
ReplyDelete