Inspire.

I can remember the teachers who actually inspired me to love learning and to not fear the unknown. For the most part, I loved learning new things. When it came to math, I was afraid to speak up, afraid to be wrong, and always wished that I could understand a concept the first time the teacher taught it.

And of course, now I am a math teacher. I know what it's like to be taught to simply 'memorize' terms, facts, and other math concepts. Fortunately, we now engage students' prior knowledge and mold it together with a new concept so they have a firm understanding. We recently started division and have conversations every day about how multiplication and division are related, how they are inverse operations. We look at story problems and discuss what information we have been given, what we are looking for, and how we are going to use what we have been given to find our answer. Both of my classes have been more than enthusiastic about learning what division means and solving problems with different strategies. It makes me feel happy that they are proud of their work. :)

Last night we had our Fall Carnival. Students can trick-or-treat through the school and then go outside to join the fun. They can dress up in any costume they want. I saw a skeleton, Snow White, Harry Potter, a princess, Batman, and then I saw one of my students...she was a 'Math Geek.'

'M' is one of those students who isn't afraid to speak up, isn't afraid to admit that she doesn't understand something, and isn't afraid to say that she just did not get it the first time. I am very proud of her, as I am of all my little friends because they work so hard and they love learning new things. 'M' was proud to create her 'Math Geek' costume. If she only knew how much it warms my heart seeing a child put that much effort into something that has to do with school...

My ultimate goal is to inspire my students to love learning and know that trying hard and believing in yourself is perfect enough for me. Thanks, 'M' for bringing a smile to my face. You have now inspired me to spread this message with others. Children can love learning. Like Lester Laminack says, "You must reach them before you can teach them..."