Learning Lessons

Some lessons are learned from study and practice. Other lessons are learned from trial and error.

Hannah's lesson of the day was learned by, you guessed it, trial and error.

This afternoon I was in another Middle School doing another observation. I was in an 8th grade math classroom and for those of you who know me well, you will know that math and I are not the best of friends. It takes me a while to understand it and when I do, it will take me twice as long to explain it.

Now that you've got the setting let's move ahead to my lesson that was learned.

The teacher introduced me as Ms. Turnbull to the class of 8th graders and they responded with hellos. The teacher proceeded to ask me what year I was in college and what I wanted to teach when I graduated. I answered that I wanted to teach middle grades and my concentrations are in history and language arts. "Oh", she responded, "You're in a math classroom but you aren't studying math?"

And here is where I learned my lesson. My response to her question was this. "Oh! I could not teach math. I'm just not that great at it, and it is so confusing."

Whoops. All the kids latched on to that idea, "See! I knew this was confusing and hard! Yah! It is SO tough!" The teacher looked at me, smiled, and said, "Oh no! That was not the encouragement these kids needed." I tried to recover by saying it was probably just confusing to me, but that didn't help much.

Lesson learned: Never, ever say something is confusing in front of a classroom of kids trying to learn that something. Always be encouraging letting them know that all of this schooling is necessary and that they will eventually get it.

Done... for real!

Last week I got an email from my advisor advising ( ;) ) me that I needed to complete another hour of math to get my full math credit. I can't say I was happy about because, well, truth be told, I wasn't. I'm not a huge math fan, hence why my concentrations for middle grades are in History and Language Arts. Oh well, I thought to myself, one hour will pass quick enough and then I'll be done. I got a meeting set up with the math professor here and she met with me today at 5. Well, it was supposed to be 5, but I was sort of in the wrong room waiting, and when someone came and showed me where I was supposed to be, then we got down to the business of our meeting. She began by explaining to me everything I was required to do by Georgia state law. At least 24 lesson plans were due with loads of math problems, explanations and other stuff that my brain could not comprehend. If I could only use one word to describe my feelings in that moment it would be: Overwhelmed. Ms. Donaldson stopped talking and asked if I had any questions. My brain slowed down a bit to concentrate back on what she was saying. One question, oh! only one? I had a zillion whirring around in my brain, the main one being, "Why ME?!" But the question that popped out of my mouth was, "When is this due by?" She answered my question and continued talking. My brain finally connected back up with my mouth and spit out, "I'm sorry, I do have one other question. Why do I have to do all of this math when math is NOT one of my concentrations." Her face was the best ever! She looked at me and said, "You aren't a math concentration?! Then why in the WORLD are you on this list?! Ignore everything thing I said and get out of here! You do NOT have to do any of this!" Oh my heart was overjoyed, my brain cleared up and I felt like I was floating on clouds :)

So, yes! I really am DONE WITH MATH! YEAH!!! :D Party time! :D

Done with math.... forever!!!

Something wonderfully spectacular happened today!

I woke up this morning ready for a normal day. I did all the normal morning things. And then sat down to do math... like normally. But by lunch time, this day turned to anything but normal. By lunch time today I was done with math. Not just done with a little section of math. Or done with a grade of math. Ohh no! I finished high school math!!! YAHOO!!!!! It is SO exciting!!! Damarise and I are both very happy to be done with math forever... well... until college that is ;)