For the first few sessions in our K-5 math class, I have been relatively comfortable. I'm learning new ways of thinking, and actually realizing what exactly I'm doing when I do these unusual steps: carry the one, borrow a ten. It's been eye-opening.
Ever since last class, though, I have been extremely anxious. We had middle school math, and though I've always been extremely comfortable with fractions, I did not enjoy what I was feeling at all in class that day. We also had a new teacher who had a very different way of teaching than our elementary teacher. I felt so nervous the way she'd randomly call on us to give her answers. Though this is nothing new to me, I've seen this done in classrooms all the time, I felt nervous experiencing it for myself. I kept thinking, "this isn't very ELL friendly." As an adult, I actually felt like not coming to next session! If I was in high school, I most likely would have skipped if I knew there wasn't a quiz or test planned. I'd just study hard at home and avoid the uncomfortable spotlighting in class.
In a way, this was an eye opener, too. For me, personally, learning these new ways of thinking requires me to think longer. In this new class, I did not feel time was a necessity. She spoke quickly, explained quickly, and went off on tangents quickly. It was easy for me to drift off if I could not keep up with her. That, also, made me nervous. If I didn't listen to her, she would probably call on me (with my luck), and I wouldn't have an answer. How unprepared and embarrassed would I feel? Today's second session with her will be interesting. I'm very anxious about it. I hope I will keep up and think fast!
I have to say, while reading your blog I must have nodded about 10 times! I completely shared your anxiety. I don't like putting students on the spot. I understand teachers have certain strategies they follow to make sure their students are paying attention and following along in class. However, I don't think this is a right method, at least not for every single class. Unfortunately, I get the feeling this is how the class will be run daily-and we have this class next quarter. I don't believe learning should be stressful. In education, we aim at challenging kids and stretching their thinking, but this shouldn't bring about anxiety and stress. If a student is that uncomfortable where they want to skip or miss class, something is not being handled well.
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry you had such a negative experience. Perhaps we can try and come up with other ways of keeping the students on their toes without it having a stressful vibe and sharing it with the teacher. School should always be fun!
This week, in a fifth grade class, I add another special river stone into my bag of teaching gems. When teaching two and three digit multiplication algorithm, I am learning to “clean house and then to “make Momma happy.” The cleaning house refers to erasing the carry-overs from the 1s column to make way for the 10s carry overs in multiplicative factors. With a smiley face filling Momma’s “0” in the ten’s place value, I imagine a happy household as students add their sums. Yet, not everyone is getting along, as one student I work with, keeps repeating the same mistakes. She was forgetting to add what was carried over into the clean house. Perhaps I could remind her, “Did you eat your cookies?” A choral response engages the whole class, “What am I dropping? What am I carrying?” What I enjoy about this vignette is that it makes the math fun. Much like playing a game, a puzzle or a manipulative, it breaks up the routine. For long division a different analogy is used: Friend come over to the “house” the long division symbol, to share. The friends, of course, are the divisor, and the answer on top is how much they all share. They key here is to use symbolism to make the learning fun! And not to live in fear that the teacher will call on you.
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