Identifying Allies

Learning to identify people who can help you become a better teacher is very important. I decided to find an ally in math by joining a math organization. I decided to join the NCTM, which is the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. I joined this group because they have lots of material for math teachers. By subscribing to a monthly journal for high school math teachers I hope to learn find better teaching methods and ways to help students enjoy learning. Since I recently joined I have not yet received any journals or publications, but by going to the NCTM website I was able to find online editions of their texts. From what I have read I have found NCTM to be a great resource. Its articles are mostly written by math teachers and describe these teachers’ experiences in the classroom. They describe lesson plans and ideas that are very engaging to the students. I was especially impressed that these articles focus on a more progressive style of teaching, which is definitely how I desire to teach. These progressive styles get all the students involved and in the lessons that I read the teacher was much more of a facilitator than a giver of information.
Another good thing I found about these articles was that they explained how to get students to think about mathematics rather than just memorize it. This was one thing that I was worried about as a math teacher. I was unsure how I was going to get students to think in math. In my classroom I see the students trying to memorize formulas without understanding them or knowing exactly how to apply them. In my classroom in the future I want students to think, understand, and learn math for themselves, and this organization is a great tool to help me do so.

I have found that friendships can be allies as well. I have been developing a spiritual friendship with my roommate. We go to church together most Sundays and discuss the sermon and the fellowship there. Friendships like these can be key to helping me relax and stay focused on my life. I think that this will be extremely helpful when I am a teacher. I will need to be able to take time for myself and my spiritual life, and talking with friends about these things can be a great way to do this. My roommate and I have been reading a book together called "A Purpose Driven Life." Even though we have read it inconsistently so far because of a busy May term schedule we hope to read the book consistently and discuss its content next semester when we are less busy. The several times that we have read chapters together led to good discussion about purpose, God, and what our lives should look like. I have really enjoyed talking with him about different topics and sharing together. I hope to continue to develop more relationships like these where deeper topics can be discussed, and where I can feel refreshed and encouraged by what is being said. Talking with my roommate has helped me see the importance of maintaining good friendships despite busy schedules.

Teachers have always had a big impact on my life, and I have foundy that they can be important allies, not only as friends but also as mentors. While I stay in contact with most of my past teachers I have found my parents to be most helpful because they love to talk about teaching strategies, methods, and ideas. Because I have decided to become a teacher, my parents have become more than just parents, but also mentors and guides in helping me become a better teacher. They both have had a lot of experience teaching, and both have taught me in a school setting. I have found that their years in teaching are great assets in helping me come up with ideas to use in the classroom I am visiting. My dad, as a middle school math teacher for over 25 years, has been the most help. Recently he has been sending me links on education articles and interesting things about teaching that he has found. I really enjoy talking with him about lesson plans and methods to get students to think for themselves. Talking to him about things I am seeing in the classroom at Pierre Moran, and also the ideas that I am learning from the text book has been extremely helpful. His ideas also helped me with planning for when I teach at Pierre Moran. By talking to him I feel like I have learned a lot of practical ways to reach out to students and get them involved. One thing in particular that he has done in math class is give each student everyday problems that throughout the week they must work on in groups. This is both encourages group work and interactions, and also helps students learn problem solving skills about common events. This is just one idea that I want to implement later on in my classroom. Talking with my parents as teachers as been very helpful and I plan to continue to use them as a resource, and also to discuss different ideas that I have for teaching.