Like most young girls, I fell in love with a few of my teachers. Their kindness and nurturing inspired me to be a teacher. Naturally, those desires changed as I grew older. After witnessing teachers being disobeyed, disrespected, and crying I began to feel just the opposite. I noticed a wide spectrum of teachers from excellent to mediocre while my children attended school. Still, dealing with the abysmal teachers caused me to rethink my current career choice.
I chose to become a teacher after an encounter with my daughter’s Algebra teacher. I assisted my daughter with a homework assignment. I disclosed an easier method to derive the answer. My daughter grasped the concept quickly. Unfortunately, she was disappointed when she received an “F” for the assignment. Likewise, I immediately contacted the teacher for a conference. The teacher concurred the answers were correct. However, she would not provide full credit since the instructed procedure was not followed. It was absurd to be given a failing grade for correct answers properly worked out. I did object tenaciously and the grade was changed.
For that reason, I made the decision to teach. Teachers who are dispassionate and unmoved are melancholy. Math was so much fun to me! To view a teacher that did not challenge herself to see the existence of more than one approach to a solution was very frustrating. Consequently, those type teachers ruin math and causes it to be a feared subject. I aim to be the opposite while building confidence in the students I teach.
