Math Autobiography
January 15th, 2014
Throughout my years in primary and elementary school, there was not much excitement surrounding mathematics in the classroom. Math in my classroom looked extremely dull, consisting of the teacher standing at the blackboard, writing numbers on the board without explanation while us students sat at our desks with our textbooks open. There were never any introductory activities or group tasks, it was always simply "open your text books to page...and complete numbers..." When we were asked to place ourselves on a spectrum from 1-10 regarding how we feel about math I was standing at about a 3. The reason for this is simply because I never had the opportunity to get excited about math. For me, math was always about copying numbers from a text book to an exercise book and working through the equations to find an answer. We were never given the chance to use math in a more abstract way or the chance to apply it to real-life situations.
Mathematical Memories
I truly do not have any good memories surrounding mathematics in my primary and elementary years. The first time I started to enjoy math was when I began my final year in high school. I honestly believe that part of the reason for this is that the teachers I had were not enthusiastic about math, and it certainly showed in the way they taught mathematics. I did have one very bad experience with math in grade six, when after struggling for half the year to keep my grades up, I spent two weeks studying as much as I could for the last test, which was the only form of assessment we ever had in mathematics. As usual, I found the test very hard, but I truly thought I knew enough to come out of it with a passing grade. As I approached the teacher's desk to hand it in, he smugly grinned at me and said, "I don't think there's any need to even look at that, do you? Considering your marks have been 60% the whole year I don't expect them to change now." To me, it seemed like all the hard work I had put into studying for this test, whether I passed or not, was useless.
I truly do not have any good memories surrounding mathematics in my primary and elementary years. The first time I started to enjoy math was when I began my final year in high school. I honestly believe that part of the reason for this is that the teachers I had were not enthusiastic about math, and it certainly showed in the way they taught mathematics. I did have one very bad experience with math in grade six, when after struggling for half the year to keep my grades up, I spent two weeks studying as much as I could for the last test, which was the only form of assessment we ever had in mathematics. As usual, I found the test very hard, but I truly thought I knew enough to come out of it with a passing grade. As I approached the teacher's desk to hand it in, he smugly grinned at me and said, "I don't think there's any need to even look at that, do you? Considering your marks have been 60% the whole year I don't expect them to change now." To me, it seemed like all the hard work I had put into studying for this test, whether I passed or not, was useless.
This experience definitely affected the way I looked at mathematics throughout junior high and most of my time in senior high, until I fell into a classroom where the teacher was extremely passionate about math and truly knew how to engage her students. We learned math through discussions, applying theories and ideas to true-to-life events, and using a SMART board for interactive learning. I went on to take two introductory math courses in university and actually flourished in my class for the first time. Again, I believe this was because the teacher had an interest in math and knew how to engage the class in discussions. After these two introductory courses, however, I did not take any other math courses.
How I Use Math
I wouldn't really say that I have used mathematics in obviously major ways in my life, but it is definitely essential to have an understanding of math. There are certain aspects of math, such as simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division which are essential in day to day life. For instance, we need math to be able to distinguish between time, schedules, and even something as simple as counting calories. Mind you, I haven't found a use for the Pythagorean Theorem in my everyday life just yet...maybe someday.
How I Use Math
I wouldn't really say that I have used mathematics in obviously major ways in my life, but it is definitely essential to have an understanding of math. There are certain aspects of math, such as simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division which are essential in day to day life. For instance, we need math to be able to distinguish between time, schedules, and even something as simple as counting calories. Mind you, I haven't found a use for the Pythagorean Theorem in my everyday life just yet...maybe someday.
My Current Mathematical Relationship
As of right now, I am on a need to know basis with mathematics. I believe that my past experiences, especially in the younger grades, has left a sour taste in my mouth that isn't easily replaced. I truly hope this can change, as I would hate for my students to some day come out of my class with a bad experience like I did. I hope to be able to be enthused about math so that in turn, my students are enthused and eager to learn. I want my students to be able to stand in a university classroom, placing themselves at a 10 rather than a 3 on the spectrum. I wish to be able to learn from my own teachers' mistakes and be the teacher they never were.
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