Sushrut

After the mid term, I had flown to DC for a cool weekend and so I came back to teach, after a 6 hour long direct flight in the morning and zero preparation. I didnt even know what topic I would start and so after I took the book in hand started with the topic that had maximum number of pages in the chapter - polynomials.

I perfectly know now, that students here fear math out of no real reason. They are just not fine with it because everyone says so. There are some real cool students in my class (Cindy, Star L and Jose) but they are just a few steps ahead. I give them a small tricky problem here n there, and they are nowhere.

I think the problem lies somewhere in the way in which they teach math here. The physical significance of math is not taught AT ALL. and there is some significance, after all math is not ONLY numbers. Moreover, they make it so much more mechanical for them, the students who one lag (for any reason) are just never able to catch up.

I am not a qualified person to talk on how things should be taught and I am only a makeshift teacher with hardly any significant experience, but I really do not understand some ways of teaching that are followed in this country. And easily enough, I think of relating those to failure of the system to teach math to average students.

Polynomials was hard to them, i made a change in HW pattern and assigned them HWs from the book. It was more of laziness from me but was OK for them, specially for copy-cats like KIM and this didnt surprise me. She is used to copy writing math, from the board/book/neighbors book/whatever.

Week 5 began yesterday and I started with important linear systems. Here lies another big monster in the name of word problems.

Not surprisingly, all students literally fear WORD PROBLEMS. They know how to solve the underneath equation but they are not able to FORM a 10 times simpler equation from a little 3 line question. Its intriguing to think why this must be the case, and opposite in India, 'cause as far as I remember my own childhood, I just loved word problems because they had so much data in them!!

Tomorrow, I will teach them a few inequalities (not really a good topic, they hate those) and then we will have chapter quiz on thursday to end penultimate week.

Due to voluminous amount of work that I have been doing this whole summer, I cant just find right time and mood combo to blog as often.

My third week of teaching was exactly that. Important topic of geometry and students are not really motivated. I dont know why they want me to include geometry in algebra but anyway. I am interested in geometry a lot so its not a pain for me, but it is, for some like, Kim, Fran and co.
Interestingly enough, I find Nora improved a lot, so also Eina and Jenny a bit.

They gave me this beautiful bracelet saying THXS SUSHRUT :) and it was a good feeling. Teaching them geometry is not fun though, since it is not the subject they know a lot about, or want to.

I also reaslised after teaching them about SIN COS TAN that since these are school going children, they need to be taught the way they are used to. They only understand SOHCAHTOA but not Sin is Opp by Hyp. Cindy was good at it.

Then on the 12th day, was their midterm and wow. They took it seriously and I am glad about that. They dont seem to be all that ill prepared either. I had to rush half way through to the MOST INTERESTING travel itinerarires till date to MD but anyway, they made a good attempt.

I realise that they are good at things they know well and at times they do well when they see unseen or different problems. They dont get scared or panicked too. Just that they JUST CAN NOT make out a tricky question. Harder questions have to be HARD for them and if they find a trick to solve a said HARD question in lesser time, they think they are wrong and they invent ways to make it harder!!!

Week 4 began yesterday and surprisingly I ran out of matter (my perenial fear) yesterday.. almost. I need to see how I can make things interesting to them when it comes to polynomials.

I can see people into 2-3 categories now. Francisco has improved a lot and more importantly WANTS to improve. Kim not so. Jenny too tries a lot less harder than she used to but is doing OK. Nora has improved a lot, Kashira does well at times but like Erik, sometimes makes surprising bloops. Things going fine, I dont know if Phillip et. al. are happy with my work, but I think the students are and I think that should matter more.

After steep learning week 1, week 2 started with a lot of comfort for me. I thought I knew what was to be done, and much of it has turned out in that way. Teaching them is now fun, easy and tension-less exercise for me, with my permanent fear of running out of topics to teach and half an hour to spend has now subsided significantly. I prepare for half an hour, mostly by reading into that fat book, preparing the next day's HW and deciding to teach them only that which is needed to solve that HW. Prof. Wagner's teaching style has had a huge impact on my way of teaching is what I feel. His utmost confidence about his own subject matter is what I was impressed most with and I try to maintain that while teaching. People like Jenny, Nora, Liss and Kim find it very valuable I think.

I can see a huge gap now forming with the backbenchers but I cant stop and hold back the class for them - a mistake I made in the first week. I have got to run, I have got to do difficult things in class, so as to keep interest of people like Heather, Jose and Cindy and at the same time, I have to atleast show that I am doing something for the back-runners. Tutors are indeed a big big help in this regard. I see them working tirelessly with disinterested, little (un) motivated students and yet never complain. I owe them for this.

Now my HWs are long, I am glad that a topic of functions was nicely learnt by most others. Now I hope this reflects well in the test too. I want everyone else to be at about the same level so that I can go along smoothly. I am impressed with Lisette's handwriting and tidy work, Erik/Moses's quick understanding, Jenny's ability to take efforts, Nora's frankness and Kashira's ability to perform well within her limits. Jose is been there done that and Heather is kinda smart but I dont have a problem with any one in the class. Not even Francisco, not even Kim or not Eli, who btw, remains the most mysterious person to me.

Since my job is to teach only for four days, on Thursday I completed my first week of teaching. Now I know all of them very well, and, they know me very well too! They were not at all in the mood of learning today and as I had promised them at the beginning of the course, they asked me promptly if they had a chapter test today to which I said YES.

Exams make students shake. No matter what level students are and no matter what level they will eventually perform, exams make them shake.

I had already prepared, copied and made the exams ready and handed out to them after 1 hour of light practice in the class. No new teaching today, I feel everyone is pretty good now in exponents.

They were cool in the exam, Kim was good too. Exams always brings out the level of maturity these kids have. I know its absurd to talk about maturity and kids in the same sentence, but that is what I mean exactly. Irrespective of the amount of preparation and/or the knowledge, kids approach exams differently.

Some are good, but go ahead very fast, and make silly mistakes though they were never pushed against the wall for time. Some forget what they know. Some follow exactly what they are taught and perform very well to their limit. I appreciate two kids - Lissette and Heather, for following every word of what I taught including the techniques to conquer multiple choice exams (thanks to Rahalkar Sir) . And then there are some, who under/over perform due to exam stress. I will like them to be stable and for that I will have teach them a little maturity.

In all, they did well, Cindy and Jose doing well but this is only exam 1, so they might just be better graspers.

I feel, along with math, I have to work on their minds, and I guess every good teacher that I have had till date, did exactly that.

And weekend was best summed up with

and

Beginning to see their colors now :)

At the end of two real teaching days, I have realized:

1. I like to use blackboard a lot of times and I end up writing a lot on it. I sincerely believe that helps. Powerpoint should never have been used for teaching.

2. My class is full of examples. Let it be Kim, who just doesn't know or may it be Jenny, who is actually a very bright student but doesnt care, and then the sincere slender guys. Each and every one is of a kind. I dont know what kinds Lissette is and I dont know what makes Eli never ever talk a single word to me.

3. They are much more respectful to their teacher and this is surprising. It should not be, I am in no way connected to them nor I am a person who gives them comfort. I am the BAD BOY for them since I make them do the most uninteresting thing in their life.

4. I see a small trend here, I dont see Kim making it, I dont see new boy Jose needing this class and I dont see why Eli, Nora, Heather, Kashira and Lissette performed badly in the test. I think they all need a class or two about exam techniques as well.. May be half class tomorrow?

5. I enjoy giving them HWs, writing them out, and making these small tests too. Feels silly, but I am actually spending time on making their exams or HWs or etc. I think that does ensure that they have quality practice, but I dont know.

Tomorrow in staff meeting I will talk highly of my class, after all I have no reason to not to do so.