Stepping into Teaching

This is not my first time at my school. I was here a year ago, during my general education teaching semester. The school is very much the same. Throughout the building there are areas where different content is displayed throughout the year. At one end of the school there is a science area, where displays show the planets, different ecosystems and weather displays. There is another area that displays various cultures and histories of Texas. There are displays for science, social studies, art, music, language arts and PE. Unfortunately there is not a math display. In addition to the displays of content material, there are also reminders to stop at crossing, hallway behaviors, and student conduct codes throughout the school. The school itself is very warm and exciting for students. There are hallways that feel like tunnels and passageways. The teachers are very friendly and seem to know every student’s name. Because there are so many displays, students can always find some of their work on the wall. The ethnic make-up is 80% Hispanic, 8% African American, 10% Caucasian and 2% “Other”.

During Math class the students are situated around a small table with the teacher. Group sizes vary from 2-6. The teacher is very involved with students problem solving and invites the use of manipulatives, white boards and colors. She reminds students of strategies learned to help them move through their work. Word problems are done everyday. Right now, most students are working on some sort of addition and subtraction. Students are engaged with manipulatives and word problems that include their names and likes/dislikes. At times I jump in to show how I might work a problem or to be an example of a mistake. We really try to work on using mistakes as a learning experience.

My teacher feels that the basics of math are most important and will teach the students what they need to know in order to be successful in their classrooms. Even if their general education classroom is learning place value, she will not move to place value if the students have no number sense. I like that she is teaching them functional skills that they need to know in order to progress. I agree that it is important for these students to have a strong foundation before they move to more complex mathematical principles. I find that I rarely disagree with this teacher. We have similar teaching styles and very similar personalities. At times I do wish that she would push the students a little more than she does, but I don’t know them well enough to be sure of their potential. Because we are similar I find it to be easy to watch and learn from her teaching practices.

As a learning math teacher, I find my teacher incredible resourceful and I really want to pick her brain. Like me, she is a math person so I really look to her when explaining concepts the students don’t understand. I find that so difficult and watching her is really reassuring me that it can be done. Hopefully in the future I’ll know more about my math identity as a teacher, instead of just wandering around in my own ideas of math.