Math

So a lot of people in my life think I am completely incapable of doing math. I would like all of those people to know that is fundamentally not true. For the record I received all A's and B's in high school, it wasn't until I got to college that math, specifically Calculus, became a struggle and I started to dislike math.

The way math was taught in high school we were essentially trained to be dependent on our fancy Texas Instrument graphing calculators to do all the work, and we never really learned how to solve most math problems by hand. No one told us that when you get to college they take those fancy calculators away and expect you to be able to solve math problems by hand. I have always felt that aspect of my education is where I was truly short changed. I was never prepared for that part of college, and in a way set up for failure. If you have not been given sufficient training on something, no matter how hard you try, you are less likely to be successful at it. (Something I have learned from my Master's in Education classes.)

Well yesterday was a fantastic shot in the arm for my mathematics self-confidence. I substituted for two Algebra classes and one Geometry class and I was able to not only remember how to do the math, but I was able to teach it. That whole if you can't do, teach saying, did NOT apply, because I was able to do as well. It made me feel really proud of myself, and made me feel much better about substituting all subjects rather than sticking with specific ones.