Thursday, January 15, 2009

Math Curse
I really enjoyed the book that was read in class today! Math Curse written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith is one of the first books I encountered that could be read to a class like a story but dealt with math. Beautifully illustrated and full of interesting facts this is one book I hope to use in my own class one day, its story not only captures the attention of children but of adults as well.

Discussion
The discussion that was held in class today let me realize that I was not alone in my feelings about math during Primary/Elementary School. By discussing it with my fellow classmates I realized that we could not remember all that much about that time of our lives. The things we did remember were what we weren’t suppose to do, like using our fingers to count. Overall it put my math opinions into perspective and put my mind at ease, not only did I realize that everyone had different experiences (depending on the school and the grade) but also that not everyone remembered a lot about their past school experiences. I always felt that I would be at a disadvantage not remembering much, but talking with others made me realize that some of us are in the same boat.

Do Schools Kill Creativity? – January 13, 2009

On Tuesday, January 13 we watched the video “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” where Sir Ken Robinson discussed the lack of creativity in the school atmosphere. I thoroughly enjoyed this video because not only was Robinson informative and valid in his knowledge but he did so with humor that captured his audiences’ attention. His opinion on hyperactivity, medication, and creativity made me think about my own opinion on the subject.

Personally I believe in today’s society many people feel it is ok to put children on medication to fix problems. Instead of looking into the matter, they seem to take the quick, easy way out not considering the needs of the child or the consequences. By putting kids on medication one takes away the creativity and spunk that a child has, as may have been the case of the ballerina he mentioned in the video. If it had been today her doctor may have diagnosed her as having some kind of condition (ex: ADHD) and she may have never gone on to become the person she became. Medication should never be the first option in helping with problems; alternate choices should always be looked into first.

Another aspect he discussed was schools killing creativity. In some ways I agree with this statement. Today adults believe in order to succeed, jobs in business, engineering, and political science take preference over the Arts. The Arts however is one of the biggest industries in today’s society, it is everywhere you turn: TV, radio, the internet, even textbooks, so its kind of funny that parents and teachers try to deter children from experiencing what they love. They push 'important' jobs such as lawyers, doctors and CEOs on top of them and say that becoming artists, dancers and singers will get them nowhere. They do not explain that even though you can go on and become a doctor it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be happy in your career and yourself.

I do not, however, necessarily put all the blame on the school system. I believe government has a major involvement in this matter as well. They are the ones that fund schooling and I believe it is their responsibility to ensure that there is choice and sources available for all students. They seem to forget about inclusion, and different learning styles and intelligences. Children should have every opportunity available to them and it is the responsibility of those teaching them and those who fund the schools. There are many schools throughout the United States that are solely for the Arts and that see students go on to have success; it therefore shows that education and the Arts can co-exist amongst one another.

I believe creativity is what makes children unique, without it we would all be the same. Students should be allowed to express this creativity and schools should encourage this expressive freedom instead of hindering it and pushing it to the side!

Math Autobiography

Primary/Elementary School

When I think back to my time in Primary/Elementary School I honestly cannot remember specific details. While it did not come naturally I wasn’t struggling in the subject either. From what I can remember about my grades and from what my parents told me, I would say I was “good” at math throughout my schooling. I never really experienced any extreme difficulties and if I did I always went and got help from a fellow student, teacher, or my parents.

For the most part my classes consisted of me sitting at my desk while my teacher showed examples on the board, sometimes we worked in pairs and used manipulatives, but for the most part I remember answering problems in our workbooks. In my opinion, the only forms of assessment I remember them using were homework, workbooks and in the elementary grades quizzes and tests. Obviously there was more to it but being a child you don’t realize that this is being done.

My teachers’ role during math class, from what I can remember, entailed them in front of the class writing out examples and explaining them to us students. They would assign questions and rotate the room helping us with any problems that we may have had. I also remember there were always worksheets that they had to correct as well. I’m not really sure how they felt about it personally but they seemed to enjoy it.

I really can’t recall off hand one memorable moment concerning math class. If I had to pick the best I guess you could say getting good marks and the worse was problem solving; I hated seeing sentences because I knew I would have to really sit and think about the question at hand, and I didn’t enjoy that.

Junior High/High School

Throughout high school I enjoyed the Math/Stats/Calculus courses I took. Even though I had to work hard I enjoyed the feeling when I solved a problem or equation correctly or received a good mark in an assignment or test. My teachers were all helpful and you knew that they enjoyed teaching math. They were always available if you needed help and made sure we tried our best.

University

When I came to MUN my focus for Education started off as math. However, once I started in on some of the math courses I realized that university math was much more difficult and fast paced compared to high school. It was difficult finding the time to meet with professors and even then they didn’t necessarily have all that much time to spend helping you. Also, the math help center was only for first year math and wasn’t much help for someone who was working on 3000 level courses. However, it was during this time that I realized I loved history and decided to change my focus to that. Therefore I have completed a number of math courses: 1050, 1051, 2050, 2320, 3331 and Stats 2500.

In today’s society you use mathematics on a daily basis, sometimes not even realizing it. In my own life I use math for shopping, banking, doing deposits at work, or finding my average in a course lol. Even though it is basic math, not like what I studied in university, it is nonetheless important. Math that is taught in primary and elementary school is necessary to function in today’s world and is something that should not be put to the side.

Overall I still enjoy math! I try not to let my university experience get me down because I know there is an extreme difference between that and what I will teach in a Primary/Elementary class.

Welcome

Hey Everyone,

My name is Jennifer and this is my blog for Education 3940: Mathematics in Primary & Elementary Grades. This blog is a place for me to reflect on my progress and thoughts in this course throughout the semester. While my focus for my degree is history, originally it was math. I enjoy the subject and I am very excited to see what I can learn to help me in my own classroom one day.

JS