Category Archives: 1 Prof. Values & Personal Commitment

Insecurity’s about mathematics

We recently had a maths lecture pointing out everybody’s feelings towards maths. What became clear was that there was a theme. Everybody had at some point had a bad experience about maths; that therefore affected their confidence. There is the overall view that a lot of people were ‘bad at maths’ and that was ‘ok’ because everybody is. It makes you wonder where we get this view point from.

In the lecture we pointed out that this opinion started when we were taught maths. So this anxiety from maths came because of the way we were taught. Our lecturer said if we are anxious about something we often teach it the way we were taught; and so the cycle continues.

From further reading (Haylock 2014) I found out even teachers have anxiety about teaching maths. They had the same worries that I have. For example:

They were frightened of maths
Often found it frustrating
Only thought there was one correct answer
Was told they were bad a maths
Only remembered things by rote

This made be relived to realize that I was not the only one. So I feel we need to change the way we teach maths. Allow children to understand that its ok it get an answer wrong. What matters most is that you understand the process and not the end result. Overall we should try and make maths fun, so that children look back with happiness and not fear.

Haylock, D. (2014) Mathematics explained for primary teachers. 5th edn. London: Sage Publications

The virtues of teaching

Honesty

To me this is about being truthful. Not lying to your pupils. Telling them yes the work might be hard but with practice you will get there. Being honest means being real; if you are honest with your pupils you will build up trust.

Patience

Teachers should wait and show perseverance. If a child does not get the answer the first time a teacher should not get angry. They should stay calm and explain then question in a different way. A teacher should help the child at their speed. As rushing them could mean that the child has not actually learned anything.

Respect

This is having a sense of worth. A teacher should have respect for their pupils and their self. It is a teacher developing high esteem for that child or praising them. It’s a teacher thinking that a child’s work or personality is of excellence.

Kindness

This is a teacher showing; generosity, humanity, empathy and tenderness. A teacher will have a gentle manner towards their pupils and they will take the child’s feelings into consideration. A teacher will not want to hurt the child, but will want them to feel better.

Fairness

A teacher might be fair in allowing the children to take their turn. He/she will give the children all equal attention. The teacher will make sure the children all share and are disciplined consistently.

Professionalism vs. the online world

1 Reply

Discuss what challenges/opportunities you may be faced with when marrying the personal vs the professional presence on social media.

I big challenge when marrying the personal and the professional presence on social media is privacy. We as teachers must be mindful of the professional boundaries and remember not to over step the mark. With social media it is easy to share information and opinions but as teachers we should never attempt to establish inappropriate relationship’s with children. However the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) do realize that teachers do have private lives and we should not put them on hold. But we should maybe show more discretion. For example having separate profiles, one which is private and the other for teaching. We should not misuse any electronic communication and maintain a formal and professional tone. Technology can enhance the curriculum. We want to use this to our advantage.

How are the challenges/opportunities afforded by social media framed? How will you frame things – positive or deficit viewpoint?

Generally social media can sometimes be seen as a bad thing in education. But personally I think it can enhance children’s learning. I think the public are wary of it, which they have every right to be as we sometimes see horrible stories in the media. But if we use it correctly it can help teachers and children to work. We know live in a world surrounded my social media. The children that we will be teaching have grown up with it. It could be a good way of understanding children, who they are as people and how they learn.

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