Just A Math Teacher

As a student, sometimes there are days where you don't want to learn. You might go through your day of classes, take a couple notes, play on your phone at times, and stay quiet in the back row of the class. While it may be good that the teacher could carry on with their lesson uninterrupted, you (the student) will leave that day without having learned anything and will have to reread your notes come test day to understand the material well enough to pass. This is not an ideal situation. I have to admit that I was once one of these students as well. While I may have done well in my classes, once I thought I understood what was happening I mentally checked out of the class. I've learned that many students (especially at the university level courses) do this as well, and would actually prefer you don't ask them questions so that they "don't have to think as hard". This, to me, is the reason asking questions during your lesson is so important. Asking que...

Welcome back to the blog ladies and gentlemen! Or should I say, lady and gentleman (since I think only 2 people read this these days). Christmas and New Year's have past, but the memories from my first placement remain. Thankfully, nearly all of my memories of placement were good! I was fortunate to have an associate teacher who know her stuff (and who liked me - what an awkward time next semester would be if she didn't) and students that I've built good connections with. I think something that I really took from my experience in two weeks is that students care to try for a teacher who cares for them. I've known that this applies to other settings for years; leading programs at summer camps, tutoring students, etc., have taught me that people will automatically work harder if they see you're working hard. However, to date these were all programs which students voluntarily entered, so I wondered if the rules would apply to an involuntary program. They did! Tu...