5 Things Being A Maths Teacher Has Taught Me
For those of you who don’t know, I worked at Education Queensland as head of multiple departments for Mathematics. People ask me all the time what the best part of being a mathematics teacher is, so I thought I would list it all out! Here are the five top things being a mathematics teacher has taught me:
- How To Problem Solve
Teaching maths is known as one of the most difficult disciplines to get kids involved in, so it comes as part of the job that you learn how to solve problems on the fly. Not only is that the whole concept of maths about problem solving, but teaching it to a variety of learners requires a range of different techniques to ensure they understand the concepts.
- Out-Of-The-Box Thinking
In a similar way, learning to think out of a traditional mould helps to teach the subject, while also helping in real life. Without learning this way of thinking as a maths teacher, I would not have been able to be where I am today, with multiple things on the go and thinking as methodically while coming up with solutions.
3. Mathematics Itself Isn’t Difficult, How It’s Taught Is
Mathematics is a hard discipline, but the concepts are easy enough for most people to understand if they are taught correctly. Think of it like a spiral – you learn a concept and then continue along the spiral until you meet the concept again, but this time you are a level up. Without teaching the concepts properly at the base of the spiral, of course a student won’t have the tools in their toolkit to understand the next level up.
4. Teaching The Basics Well Is Key
This brings me to this next point – teaching the basics, such as mental arithmetic, rounding, base-level algebra and index laws is essential for students to be able to level up as they move through mathematics courses. How could someone who doesn’t understand like terms come to solve simultaneous equations? Repetition is key for learning the basics and learning them well.
5. Good Mathematical Knowledge Is The Key To A Lot Of Careers
This may not be something you know, but having a sound math base can help in a lot of careers. Apart from the obvious engineering, commerce and statistics, most jobs require excel knowledge, counting and problem-solving skills which are all, you guessed it, math related.
So there you have it! The top 5 things being a maths teacher has taught me. This is by far the most rewarding job I have ever and will ever have and I am so humbled every day that this is what I do.