Math Autobiography

The year was 1988 and I began my first days of official math class as a mighty Kindergarden learner. I recall our classroom very well. The chairs had never been sat in, the crayons have never been used, the blocked brand new. We were the first cohort in a brand new school and little did I know we had manipulatives galore. Tackling our counting numbers came with many bright blocks, hand-size bumble bees with sticky backs we could use on our counting boards. I always remember working in primary and elemtary grades in groups for mathematics, sometimes in pairs, but usually groups of four. From what I can remember my teachers did use the textbooks extensively back then, often page by page progressing chapter by chapter through the book. For the frist three grades we used the MAth Quest 1 and 2 where we'd write in the actual books. I remember it being so cool but I also recall when we'd have to practice carrying the questions over from the books to our own exercises at the start of grade 3.

I remember math being very easy with much drill and practice. I never recall games or investigations that we did play, but my teachers were colorful so I'm sure some fun things were done as well. In elementary grades I do not recall the fraction strips we see in today's classrooms but rather a set of rules that we just had to know. All in all though I found the math easy, probably too easy, often bored at times. I just got it, immediately very often. I remember my teachers telling my parents at PT interviews that I was gifted in the subject area and should study it further probably as an account because get this (I could do better than a teacher - haven't we all heard that encouragement before!) There was no enrichment from what I can remember, no math competitions eithers. One thing I remember from my cousins who struggled a bit more with the maths back then was that their parents seemed to be able to help them (Is this still true today given how much the math has changed accoring to today's parents?).

So I guess my worst memory was that the math was never really challenging for me most of the time. Therefore, my greatest memories includes being able to help my friends in class, proud that I was able to be the teacher's helper when I got my work done. Now, more than 20 years later I look back on the way it was then and realize that there needs to be a greater spread in the curriculum, opening up room for more capable students to still keep their interests peaked, and also more investigative, hands on methods for young children to understand the math their expected to learn in a manner they are capable of applying. Sure, there needs to rules and reminders but they cannot be the essence of an introduction to a topic with students expected to micmic the laws of math with just pencil and paper work exclusively. I remember my teachers for the most part being the leader in the class. I don't recall much student-centered learning taking place during my elementary years. The chalk board was very often the centre of our classes. My teacher's seemed to enjoy teaching mathematics, and provided enthuasism especially for word problems in middle school years. We would practice four steps to solving a problem: 1) Re-write the question in our own words; 2) indicate which operations we'd have to use 3) Solve the problem 4) State the answer in a sentence. Ourside of formal tests I don't remember there ever being journal entries, portfolios, or other alternate assessments (besides assignments) at any point until grade 9. Most tests I recall were a combination of selected response items and constructed response items, however the lack of graphics still remians in my mind.

My high school days of mathematics were much different than the first 10 years of class. I was in one of three classes in the province that were part of the pilot program for the present stream of Math 1204, Math 2205, Math 3205, Math 3207 courses. There was no textbook but rather a series of booklets which contained very little direction, practice, or help. The courses were clearly way too loaded with material. I recall spending a lot of our classes going through very tedious investigations that needed much pruning and modifications. Math classes were very frustrating for both us and our teacher, a woman with more than 24 years of experience in the math classroom. Again, I found the "math" part easy, but it was frustrating working through all the cracks and gaps in the curriculum we were given to work with.

I went through my B.Sc. degree, completing 18 math courses in the Applied Mathematics program. Ranging from calculus to linear algebra to numerical analysis, including ODE's and mathematical modelling my program provided a wide range of mathematics to study. Do I engage in mathematics in major ways in my life? Well as a math teacher of course the answer should be yes, and it is, but to to the extent that I wish it would be. I really would like to be able to devote more time to researching mathematics, learning and exploring more issues and new theories in the area. In my three years in the profession thus far I've served in several school district committees in the areas of improving test design, adopting and faciliating technology into the classroom, and improving math interest through "math fun days" held at the school. At the college level I took part in curriculum modifications for entry-level math courses and developed a MPT for registered students at the CNA-Q campus.

All in all I'm very much enjoying the role that teaching and learning mathematics is serving in my life. I realize its importance, I see its potential, and I strive to engage and open up more young people's minds to the possibility that the maths have.

SAW