“I think a very important difference this year was that by the time these ten children were exposed to the traditional algorithm, they had successfully constructed their own understanding of addition with regrouping” (Schifter, 67). They constructed their OWN understanding. It is this that I feel is one of the most important factors in math. I know in my own personal experience, I have not learned by what the majority would necessarily consider the “norm”. I always tended to find my own ways of understanding in academics, and especially in mathematics. I thought it was very interesting the different ideas that come up throughout chapter four of “Building a System of Tens”. Especially interesting was the idea of adding in order to subtract that Paul brings up in lines 254 through 267. I reread his way of thinking over and over and I, a senior student at Michigan State University, am easily confused with the way he solved his problem. It made me wonder if this was an example of this child’s actual mature level of thinking.
Something else that came up that I have strong opinions on is the expectations put on us by the district, parents and coworkers. I often find myself wondering if I can successfully pull off some of the techniques I’ve learned about in the College of Education. I understand the use of expectations, but I do wish that some of the politics of school weren’t so strict. I feel that we need to be more open minded about our students learning, yet it’s not going to happen when there are so many standards and expectations to meet.
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Erin,
ReplyDeleteI can absolutely understand your concerns with regards to parental and administrative influence over your own personal teaching practices. There have been times when I have become so paranoid and overwhelmed by all of the rules, regulations, and supervision that will inevitably placed on me that I have questioned whether or not I want to even become a teacher. Something that always brings comfort to me, however, is considering the source. Are school administrators and other individuals so influential and involved because their intent is to make our life more difficult? Certainly not. Like us, they too have the children's best interests at heart and predominantly want them to learn and enjoy doing so. The common ground existing among us all is that we love children and are deeply invested in their ongoing education. Having this simple yet significant quality commonality can sometimes in itself be a segue to understanding and cooperation among diverse groups.