Let's be honest: I'm a pretty good reading teacher. Here's the secret: I like reading. My kids can sense how excited I get about books, and it makes them get excited about them too. Some of them are stubborn at first. They refuse to admit that reading is cool, or fun, or exciting. They simply will not have it! But, sooner or later, they find that book they love and they're hooked for life. Today, I get to sit in awe and peer up from a reading conference at a silent classroom of 28 kids that are mesmerized by their books.
Well, I've never had a math moment like that. Most of the time, I feel really overwhelmed with how much I have to differentiate for math. I'm supposed to have 3 simultaneous groups playing three differentiated math games all happening at once as I teach one of the three groups?! And that's supposed to happen twice a day?! What! There is one of me, and 28 of them. How is this possible? That feeling, the overwhelmed, I don't want to do this, I'm nervous to do this, kind of feeling...kids pick up on it. So no, I have not been able to teach kids how to be mesmerized by their math games.
Well, today I may have had a breakthrough moment. Today was family game night, and I was asked by our brilliant math coach to volunteer and help out at the fifth grade table. When I showed up at 5:30, there was only one fifth grader at the fifth grade table, but oh. my. god. That child was a child that I DEFINITELY did not expect to show up. Let's just say that he is far from passing math, and while he is very brilliant and definitely knows how to work a system or two, he needs some serious one on one math support that I haven't been able to provide often. Today, I got to play math games for 2 whole hours with this student, his mom, and our tech coach, and it was FUN! My student didn't want to leave, and got his mom to stay an extra hour. He took a math packet home, took math posters home, and even kept the scratch paper from our games as "memories."
This is the first time I've felt so excited about teaching math. It was relaxing and exciting and happy, and the student felt that excitement. Now, part of this is very clearly that there were 3 adults on deck to help one student, and when do you EVER see a ratio like that? I don't know if it's possible to transfer that same support and excitement to a class of 28 with 1 teacher and 28 kids, but maybe, just maybe, with a little support (2 teachers? 1 teacher 1 coach? 1 assistant teacher and one teacher?) I could figure out a way to love teaching math so my kids can love learning it...
2 comments:
math=food for the brain. I wish I could teach math all day everyday....
I'm SOOOOO happy you had a good math moment today.
I want to do Family Math Game night now in my classroom!
(still not as funny as me picturing you sitting with your family doing problem solving at a table in florida...what was I smokin??)
That's great Sara! Amazing how excitement is contagious. I'm sure you can figure it out... Either way you made a huge impact on that student's life - those are the experiences kids remember and talk about years later.
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