Honestly, when I started this semester of school I was dreading taking my math class the most. I have always hated math with a passion and found no purpose to it for my life. I mean, I am going to be a Marriage and Family Therapist so why do I need Geometry or Algebra?! I was sure I was going to need lots of help with my homework and assignments. Thankfully my sister-in-law was a math major and is now an engineer so I figured with her help I would drag myself through the class. I am proud to say that I had her help me with the first couple weeks of homework, really just the first chapter, and that is it!
I realized that I didn't mind the class all that much, or at least no more than any of my other classes! It's not that easy to be a full time student and a full time employee and run a household with 2 kids, a huge dog and a husband! But I have been doing it for a couple years now and I feel great about my progress. Probably the thing I feel the best about is the progress I've made in my math class this semester.
With math, unlike any other class for me, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment when I get my homework done and I have gotten 100%. The reason for that is I have never been very good at math and just looking at a math book is enough to make me want to run and hide! Through the course of this class I have learned a lot and enjoyed myself while doing it. I went to elementary school in the 80's when all we were learning was the basic algorithms and I felt like that was enough. Even up until a couple weeks into the class I was thinking that there was no need for all these weird math solutions. We don't need to know why something works, just that it works and the quickest way to figure out a solution. I was very wrong! I love the different ways of figuring out a basic division problem. Now I know that I will not use all of what I have learned in the class going forward, but I know that some of it will be used often. And most importantly I feel smarter!
I had problems helping my daughter, who is 10 and in 5th grade, with her math homework. And actually I have had issues for years helping her with certain things on a math worksheet because they were totally foreign to me. I was not sure what some of the problems were even asking! I am able to help her much better now and it's only been a few months of a class.
Basically I took this math class for a couple simple reasons. First it was online and I had to have an online class so that I could continue to work. Second, it fulfills a core requirement for me to graduate at SCSU. I was never planning to be an elementary teacher like the rest of the class is. But even though I will not be teaching kids in a classroom, I am still a teacher at home. My kids count on me to help them and lead them when they are confused or frustrated. The one area I had trouble with was math, anything above the basic addition or subtraction problem. Not any more! I am not a math genius by any means but I know how to help better than ever before. Now, if I don't understand the problem I know where to search for the solution. I have done so much math research in this one semester that I sort of feel like a pro! I will continue to use a lot of the websites and YouTube channels to help educate my kids and keep myself fresh on the newer styles of math. I know now that I will never be one of those parents that says they cannot help their kids with their homework because it's too hard for them. That fact makes me extremely proud.
Websites and YouTube channels worth looking at:
Edutopia
Teaching Channel
Khan Academy
Math For Elementary Teachers
IXL
Math is Fun
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