Oct
30
When people ask me what my major is, I say “Math Education”. This is usually taken as me saying that I’m majoring in math, with the intention of becoming a teacher.
That gets my focus all wrong.
I’m not as much of a math major as I am an education major. I really want to teach, and I’ve felt this way since elementary school, believe it or not. I once had a green chalkboard; I’d steal chalk sometimes so I’d have something to use on it, and I tried to teach my sister math and simulate a real school day. She was never completely willing, though. I’ve always been marveled by the school system and I’ve always wanted to be on the other side of the teacher’s desk.
My interests have matured over time, of course. I see issues such as the achievement gap, minorities not doing as well in school, and inadequate funds for public schools. Sure, I’m not going to be able to change everything. But if I start as a teacher, I’ll at least be able to influence the lives of some students. I want to be able to inspire students and make them better off in the future. I do believe that I have the ability to eventually move past a teacher, though, if I feel that I should when the time comes. There are quite a few tracks to move on to. I could be a Dean of Students, a principal, or a college professor. Whatever I plan on doing, though, I want to help out students, and I do want to teach. I wonder if it’s possible for a principal to teach a class. I wonder if it’s against the rules for them to, or if they just don’t have enough time to. I’d try my best to make time for such a thing. I say this because I believe that it is important that a principal makes his presence known to the students. If he doesn’t, the students will feel that he does nothing. Lack of presence is definitely why people felt my principal did nothing, even though she did. But, I digress to myself and teaching once more.
I do have a couple of issues: classroom management and respect. I need to learn to get the respect of my students and to play all my cards right. If I do that well, I’ll be fine. Robert Fried has said that teachers can be passionate about their subject matter, current events, and/or the creativity and issues of the students. I’m definitely passionate about the latter two. Passionate about math? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong; I like the subject. I’d much rather teach that over English, Latin, or History. But I don’t have an extreme love for the conceptually difficult math such as calculus and whatever else I’ll be taking in the near future. I like the fundamentals; I like algebra. But I don’t know how much of the conceptually difficult math topics I’d want to teach, which kind of takes my drive for being a college professor away. The art of profession requires a doctorate for the most part, and I don’t think I’ll make a thesis about math anytime soon. If anything, I’d be a doctorate of education, not math. I’m more into teaching than I am into math.
Long story short: I’m majoring in education, with a focus on teaching math. I’m not majoring in math with the focus on teaching. I still can’t wait to teach and I’m soaking up all the educational theory I can.