I am looking at my college ‘intermediate algebra’ book, the equivalent of high school algebra II, and thinking I should keep on developing algebra, continue to trigonometry and maybe even get to calculus. Crazy… I know…
Maybe it is just that I am a frustrated math teacher, who was never able to use her full potential as a teacher. I am not as good with math as I am good in explaining math; maybe because I understand what other people don’t understand.
My, relatively, short teaching career is a sequence of unsuccessful experiences with unmotivated, unwilling and undisciplined students. The whole literature of how to become a good teacher, acquired during my teaching credentials program, proved to be completely useless, and rather aggravating. The philosophy that throws all responsibility on teachers, and the system that allows students not to do their work, or pay attention or even just be quiet, system that does not require students to be responsible for their materials, or even bear the consequences of having no skills by 12th grade, make it impossible for teachers to do their job.
My only satisfying school job was teaching a Pre-Calculus class. It was my hardest assignment, as I was not familiar with the material, challenged to the top of my knowledge, but it was also my finest. Students did want to learn. They knew they needed to put an effort to get where they wanted to be; they did their work, came up with good questions, and kept asking until they understood. And when they did, there was a sparkle in their eyes, and they did appreciate it.
Looking back, perhaps I should have invested more effort in becoming an advanced level math teacher, working with motivated students, bringing the light to their eyes. As it is now, I can expand my knowledge and understanding, taking advantage of the time I have, and hope to be able to use it sometime in the future...
