I taught middle and high school math for 12 years. Everything from basic 7th grade math all the way up to Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus. Math is a tough subject to teach. For most kids, it is their least favorite class. It is also their parents least favorite class usually. I can’t count the amount of times at conferences that I had a parent tell me that they did not like math in high school. Rare was the time that a parent told me they loved math. I taught in a school that had mostly middle income to poverty level students. Many kids had parents who were self employed. It was an awesome school to be a part of for so many years. I am currently not teaching but rather running our business while my wife goes to school to become an RN. After that, who knows, maybe I will be back in the classroom again. If it works out, I definitely would not hesitate to go back into teaching.
1st- Make your class one they look forward to each day.
This has a fine line as the class still has to be educational and rigorous but with the right formula, Pre-Calculus or any class can be a lot of fun. Even Geometry. Even the math class that has a large portion of them that hate math. There are different ways to teach that can make the class interesting to come to and if you get the kids wanting to come to class, you have a better chance to make your subject sink in. Sometimes it is starting the day off with music or a joke or whatever your personality can put forth genuinely.
2nd- Patience is a very important
My philosophy was every day is a new day. Every teacher has had a kid or many kids that kept coming every day and doing everything they can to disrupt the class. No matter what the prior day or prior 100 days were, I did my best to treat every day as a new day and greet that kid with a smile and enthusiasm that would hopefully help make today great. You will not make every kid like coming to your class but it does not mean you have to give up on them. I have had some that have taken several years of patience before I started seeing results and it is an awesome feeling when they start learning.
3rd- Don’t be afraid to fail in front of them
It is a great teachable moment for your students to see that even you can make mistakes. That being said, you must let them make mistakes as well and help them through that process. There are times where you do not need to know the answer and can tell them that you will get back to them tomorrow with the correct answer. This is a humbling experience, but with the right attitude, your students can see that you don’t always need to know everything right away. Some things take a little time to discover.
4th- They are only kids
They are going to say and do things that you can not quite figure out what they were thinking. They will have wild mood swings that sometime occur within the class hour. They may love your class one moment, and hate it the next. But then the next day, they are back to loving it again. Do not take anything they say or do personally. They are not and should not be your friends that you are trying to have like you as such. If you stay rock solid in your approach and how you go about teaching class, they will adapt very quickly to what your expectations are.
5th- Mastery takes time
I have been a firm believer that it takes about 5 years to really fully develop your curriculum in a way that it becomes very rigorous but yet effective. 1st year you are trying to stay afloat. 2nd year your adding things and at least feel like your ahead of the game. Third year you are analyzing how first years went and eliminating waste and adding new stuff. Fourth year you are refining your processes. Fifth year you put it all together and you have a class that is challenging but yet effective. I taught Algebra II for 11 years and it took a while to get the class to a point where it was challenging the brightest kids but not burying the weakest.
I survived my trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama and would strongly recommend this area to anyone who is looking for a family vacation. Beautiful area and beaches with a lot of different things to see and visit.
Check back in next week for the other 5 things I learned as a teacher.
