Maths has changed my thinking…

Maths has never really been a huge problem for me. In primary school, I was in the ‘top’ group and from what I remember, I generally only struggled with fractions and trial and error questions. My only issue was that if I were to get a question incorrect, I would feel as if I had failed and I hated the embarrassment of being handed my work back to correct (however, this was not specific to maths, it was a personal thing with almost everything). I remember I would try to be the third finished in the class (straight after my two best friends). I would never try to be the first or second, as I knew I would never overtake them in my academic abilities. I was a complete visual learner and still had to write out my times-tables on the side of my page when working out a problem. In fact, I think I would still do it now.

My favourite part of maths was probably symmetry, because I was one of the first to understand it and it was a fun topic, as I enjoyed art/drawing. My teacher used boards with stick out parts and elastic bands for one lesson and would make one side of the board a complicated shape with the elastic bands and I would have to replicate the other. I enjoyed this most probably because I was better at it than my two best friends who would usually overtake me and outshine me in reaching potential.

In high school, it was a big change. I started off in the top maths class but then in third year was moved to the 3rd class. When I asked my teacher about it, he admitted there had been some sort of mistake and would sort it. However, he failed to do this even after asking him again, so I assumed I was supposed to be in this class. All of my friends were in the top 2 classes and I supposed I felt a bit crushed they would be enjoying their class without me. As time went on, I began to hate maths. Before, I didn’t mind it, but the teacher I had was belittling and only wanted to talk about her favourite animal (polar bears – btw). The work was almost too easy for me and I would be finished a considerable amount of time before everyone else, so I would sit bored for about 20 minutes of the lesson while my teacher went around every individual, attempting to help them but eventually just getting frustrated asking, “how can you not understand this?”. She was small but probably one of the scariest teachers I know.

For me, as an upcoming teacher, there is every chance I will try to encourage active learning in maths, and not intimidate my pupils by putting them on the spot and expecting them to know every answer possible. Reflecting through this blog post on my personal experiences has allowed me to realise the type of teacher I would like to be, not just in maths, but in general. I want to engage and be an enthusiast about everything possible to entice my class, to make sure they are enjoying their lessons, and enjoy coming to school!

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