I love math. My father was a very logical thinker and was very good at reasoning and mathematical calculations. I developed and inherited my skills from him. I have a Master’s degree in teaching mathematics and I taught Pre-Algebra for four years. Therefore, it is sometimes hard for me to understand our society’s negative attitude about math.
When I tell people that I have a Master’s of Science degree in math, they often looked shocked. Not many teachers in elementary education hold this degree, especially kindergarten teachers. I usually hear comments like “really?” and “wow!” Most people naturally assume that a math degree is a hard degree to obtain. While it was not a picnic at the park, I enjoyed it much more than I would have enjoyed an English degree. It is all about what you like and it seems that math is not something many people care about learning.
I was once watching an all time favorite game show of mine, Family Feud. The question that 100 people were asked was, “Which school subject do you use the least in life?” To my shock the number one answer was math! I cannot see how anyone functions in the world without math. We use mathematical skills for the simplest tasks, such as counting our money and calculating our age.
I found that teaching math to middle school age children was difficult. They had all types of preconceptions about math before they ever walked into my room. Many students would say that they were not good at math and not even try. When I had discussions with the parents of struggling students, I heard parent after parent say, “I wasn’t any good at math in school and neither is he.” I never felt that that was an acceptable excuse.
I think a lot of our society’s negative attitude about math is contributed to the lack of enthusiasm of math teachers. I will be the first to state that always making a math class fun is not easy. However with the negative opinions surrounding the subject of math, teachers must strive for more creative math classes.
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