Mathematical Identity Blog Entry 1 – Math Life Story

What is math? I would imagine a dictionary-definition of the word might include the words measurement, numbers, symbols, or perhaps relationships. Growing up, however, I also associated the words “fun” and “exciting” to my mathematics experiences. I had always loved completing “Mad Minutes” in the elementary grades or playing “Around the World” using multiplication facts, primarily because I was good at these games. I could and often did win. Nevertheless, the highest point of my math experiences did not come until the seventh grade. Pre-Algebra began, and for the first time, I was manipulating variables and solving equations. I loved how many of the problems could be solved in different ways to reach the same answer and how a process of back solving could be used to check for understanding and accuracy. When I finished my class work early, my teacher would allow me to help other students in the class with their own work and I truly enjoyed sharing my talents with my peers. With this new responsibility, I felt empowered as a student, someone who was self-confident and a leader in the room.
    I excelled in math through high school and choose calculus my senior year. Calculus homework was beginning to take up more of my time than math assignments had in past years. As a senior, I did not wish to compromise my involvement in extracurricular activities to allow for more homework time, so I continued as best as I could. I realized I was beginning to struggle as I no longer made only As and asked for some help from my teacher. Conveniently, this decline came around the same time as the peak in soccer season. I was co-captain and it was my senior season. Although I had recently fractured my ankle and would be sitting on the sidelines until after the winter holidays, I choose to attend our away tournament in Dallas without hesitation. With this decision, I would be missing two days of calculus test review, but skipping out on my teammates despite my injury was never an option in my mind. It was a tournament to remember until I received my calculus test grade of a C+, the first C I had ever received. I was overwhelmed and flustered when my calculus teacher confronted me and directly asked if I held regret toward my decision to join the soccer team when I couldn’t even play. She proceeded to question my abilities as a student leader and member of the honor society and student council, which infuriated me as I felt that was irrelevant to my performance in calculus. I did eventually pick my grade back up but it was nearly impossible to view my teacher with the esteem I once had. I promised myself that I would never do the same to a student or friend. Soccer was the thing I looked forward to the most and this teacher was trying to take that away from me while putting greater stress and blame in my hands. From this experience, I also constantly remind myself to have patience with my students and to really focus on what their own needs or goals are, capitalizing on their strengths to improve their weaknesses.
    As for a turning point, I believe I experienced a turn in events my freshman year in college here at the University of Texas. Taking an elementary mathematics course, I was forced to look beyond determining an answer but assessing the means of getting to that answer. I began to understand the “why” behind mathematics and how it is that different cultures may solve math problems in a variety of ways. While I found this class to be frustrating at times, I really did enjoy the material. I look forward to studying mathematics and sharing numerous types of math with my students.
    Several other scenes stand out in my mind over the course of my mathematics experiences. First, I remember being in pre-school and beginning to count money. I was intrigued by the different coins and understanding that various sizes and colors were worth different amounts. My favorite game at the time became playing grocery store, where I was always the designated cashier. So much fun! I also particularly enjoyed working with the preschool students in my PPCD placement. These students appeared to enjoy math because I taught it in the format of games. We would laugh and play during instructional teaching.
    I consider the greatest challenge in math to be my experience with one student in particular just last semester.  This kindergartener was in a life skills placement and had very little number sense. She could not identify numbers and was not able to perform simple one-to-one correspondence problems. Although I consider myself a very patient person, there were times when I felt like giving up but knew that was not an option. I value my time spent with this student, for I realized that math or numbers does not come naturally to everyone and that I must often think creatively to facilitate for unique styles of learning.
    Why do I want to be a special education teacher? I want to be a special education teacher because I feel I have been given a talent of working with young children who require just a little extra patience. I believe children deserve quality education and are deserving of caring role models who seek to help them reach their full potential as citizens of a global community. To do so, I feel that this education should be appropriate and accommodated to their unique needs and learning style. By providing students with a number of opportunities to succeed, I will do my best to ensure a positive, learning environment for each child that I meet.