The problem my class was presented with was: "A child in your class says, 'I hate math! I'm not good at math, and never will be!", what experiences do you think this child has had in his or her life that contribute to this child's feelings about his or herself, math, and his or her relationship to math?"
I can defnitely relate to this student because I was this student at one time, and sometimes still think of myself in this way now. In class, the student most likely does not fully understand the material because it is either not taught in their learning style so it is easily understandable, or he or she simply could not grasp the concept in the manner the teacher taught it. Because of this, the students begins getting lower grades in math than desird, and might even start to compare his or herself to the rest of his or her classmates. It is likely for some students to receive negative feedback on an assignment or test and they shut down. They are no longer feeling good about themselves in relationship to math, so they stop trying. For me, maths in upper elementary and middle school were hard for me. When I got to high school, all of a sudden math started clicking more and more and I started getting increasingly better grades in the subject. I do not know why I started getting better at math the older I became, but I know at one point in my life I was that kid presented in the example. I believe every student at one point in his or her life has a struggle in school with a certain subject. They most likely have a difficult time understanding the concept based on the way it was presented. Because they are not fully understanding the concept, they begin getting "bad" grades on tests and assignments and start feeling hopeless about their math skills. As a future teacer, I hope this never occurrs in my classroom. Fostering student's positive attitudes toward school in general in something every teacher should do, and it is the teacher's responsibility to meet any negative attitudes head on in the classroom.
I am jealous that you did well in high school because that's when I began to struggle. It's so easy for kids to start blaming themselves and feeling bad because they have a hard time with math. I think it's our job as teachers to do everything we can to make sure our kids feel confident in every subject.
ReplyDelete