Sorry I had to edit this version as when I reading my posting today I noticed I missed the last part of my posting when I cut and pasted :( .
That was the question I was asked even before I had my coat taken off the other day. “Miss, are we doing math today?” To which I replied, “Of course, we do math everyday!” The next response from my student was “good, I love Math!” I thought my heart was going to melt. As a teacher, I spend so much time trying to develop engaging and meaningful math activities that when you hear that a student loves math, you know your hard work is paying off. I’m sure not all of my students feel the same way but it is interesting that I teach math each day after recess and when I come back from duty or the staff room, all of my students are sitting on the floor ready to begin math. This makes me feel like the students are in a good place with their attitude towards math. When does this attitude start to change and why? That is a huge concern to me and something I wish I could change in all the grades! I teach my students that math is meant to be challenging and it is ok to be stuck. . As Mason says, “Everyone gets stuck. It cannot be avoided, and it should not be hidden. It is an honourable and positive state, from which much can be learned.” (p.49) I try to help my children to positively internalize Mason’s message and not be so hard on themselves. Like Mason, I too, strongly believe that a lot can be learned from an unsuccessful attempt than from a problem that is quickly solved.
References:
Mason, J. (1985). Thinking Mathematically England: Addison-Wesley Publishers Limited.
No comments:
Post a Comment