A) Chapter 1 & 2 Reflection

Teacher said: “You must do the times and divide first before you plus and minus.”

I wondered why but I never asked for the reason behind, because…

Teacher said: “It is Maths’s rules and we just have to follow it.”

She also said,” Keep practicing and practicing. It is the only way you will get the sums correct and remember it.”

So much was the memory I have of how Mathematics was taught to me, upon completing reading Chapter 1 and 2 of the text.

Personally, a teacher plays an important role in engaging and sparking the children’s interest in a subject. Thus, lessons should not be boring and I always add the “fun” aspect into my lesson. I strongly believe that children learn best through play and experiencing.

 Reflecting the six principals of school mathematics, I feel that the Equity principal seems to be often missed. At times, we tend to fall into the trap of taking away a child’s opportunity to learn. How so? Too often, teachers get tired of explaining and think to themselves, “Wow, I have to spend so much time explaining to him, forget it la.” To a certain extent, teachers will assume that the child will never understand or he simply cannot do it.

 In our mundane work, we tend to forget that a job of the teacher is to provide children with opportunities to grow and reason and not destroying them. It is these important opportunities that children will learn and which might make an important impact in their life.
 

The readings reminded me that we must constantly reflect upon ourselves and understand that each child learns differently and at different pace. Thus we must provide them with varied learning approaches to suit their different learning styles. Opening a child’s horizon and interest in a subject is like planting a seed. We do not know how tall the plant will grow but once it grows, we need to constantly water it and provide it with the necessary nutrients. Most of all, we need to shower it with love. Likewise, the teacher’s role becomes that of a facilitator as the child will be motivated to discover and learn more by himself.

Quote of the day:

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you,

who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau,

sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth."

~Dan Rather