Math Autobiography

January 19, 2014 MED 300
Math Autobiography
Math can be very tricky for some people, easily making it their least favorite subject. For me, it's different. I have always loved math, even when it is challenging. For my essay, I will write about whether or not I consider myself good at math, my good and bad experiences in math, my future plans as an educator and what I hope to accomplish this semester during this course.
When younger, usually math was the first homework I would work on. I guess the reason I do that is because I love math and because I think I am a pretty decent math student. I usually I know what to do. I especially like doing Algebra because it is filled with proportions and multiplication. Those are my favorite areas in math. I guess I started loving math when I was in elementary school. I was great, and some students in my class were really good too, so there was always a little competition. We would always get multiplication sheets and I was always finishing them quickly, along with some of the other proficient math students. In a way, those kind of competitions were fantastic for me. I was motivated to do well on them. The students also pushed me to be great even if they didn't realize it.
I would have to say the best teaching and learning techniques that worked for me is hands on activities and basically breaking things down step by step. The worst would have to be, when a teacher just hand you the problems and expect you to know what to do. Even though math is one of my best subjects, I still expect my teacher to actually teach me.
In teaching mathematics, I would help my students make the connection between classroom learning and their life outside of school. I would provide them the tools they need to handle issues they will come across with numbers in daily life and also prepare them for higher learning in math. As someone who enjoys the logic of math, I strive to make my passion for it contagious so that my future students will not only understand math but also enjoy learning it. With that goal in mind, I would make my lessons engaging and allow my students to tap into their own interests by offering options on assignments as often as possible. With that being said, I feel that math is very important; we use it in our everyday lives and would be lost without any knowledge of it. Teachers need to help students to understand and not just "do" math. We need to remember that everyone learns differently and we need to encourage that. I feel that reflecting on my personal experiences with Math will help me be a better teacher than if I hadn't taken the time to see what things can go wrong when teaching math to my students.