I Remember when I was in second grade, my class went to market place of the town with everyone carrying a small abacus, we were given unit price and the number of items assuming to buy, then each student was asked to calculate the total prices for each item, using multiplication method with our abacuses, I was the fasted to arrive a conclusion with correct answers most of the them. the math teacher was very impressed, and that made me smiling all the way back home.
As the subject becomes harder, I started to like some other subjects such as Transitional Proses, Poetry, English, and Chemistry. Chemistry is my strongest subject in High School because I found myself very good at solving chemistry problems during big tests. In general, students are given certain clues and required to figure out the substance implied in the problems. It is like finding solutions to riddles, I always wrote out all the give data on my papers and use logic and math skills to get a my answer. Mathematical thinking skills played a big role in my ability to excel in Chemistry, only those who have good patience, fast computing ability, and flexible analytic skills could stand out, I am grateful to my early experiences and trainings in math.
Not being confident enough to major in math, and not really being interested in becoming a professional in Chemistry, I finished my college with a degree in Materials Management Engineering and got a job in power management company.
After coming to the U. S. A., I got a degree in Elementary Education and in Pure Mathematics, and learned various math teaching and learning strategies. I realize that teaching mathematics is what I have always enjoyed in the past years, and it will be something I plan to continue doing rest of my life.
Many people don’t enjoy this subject, they believe that they have No talent in it, which is not true. Math is learn-able and could be very fulfilling once you get it! I love math the way it is! There are creative ways to help students at all grade levels to master the concepts.
About five years ago, when I started to teach college freshmen Pre-Calculus, a little verse jumped into my mind, and I have written it down on board for my students, most of them liked it. and now I share it here, you may replace math to anything you like most.
Math is cool,
If you know the rule;
Math is fun,
If you are its fan;
Math is tough,
If you don’t study hard enough,
…
Math is cool,
How about you?
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Jingle Nozelar 