It's Tuesday, and Tuesdays are for slicing. Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices!
My youngest daughter Cecily is home, having completed her freshmen year of college, and she is on the teacher prep highway. Until her camp counselor work begins, she is working as a sub in the schools, and she made me chuckle today when I came home.
"I had to support kids in math today," she said when I walked in.
My silence kept her going. The truth was I is I'm fascinated to watch Cecily become a math teacher, assuming that she heads toward elementary education. Math has always challenged her, and she's had a lot of experience with tutoring, alternative strategies, and filling in the Swiss cheese-like gaps of her math understandings.
"The kids were all working on adding fractions with unlike denominators," she continued.
I'm not sure when Cecily mastered fraction addition that involves renaming them, but I'm sure it was not in elementary school.
I winced, and I stayed silent, knowing that she had more to say.
"I don't understand how they can teach these kids how to add fractions with unlike denominators when they don't understand how to convert them from mixed numbers to improper fractions," she said.
I nodded. I'm pretty sure that my older daughter who works for a dermatologist would have told me to unwrinkle my forehead or I'd need more Botox.
"They're teaching kids skills they aren't ready for. That's what happened to me, and it took forever to understand it because I kept trying to learn new things when I didn't have the things I needed to learn them figured out..." Cecily was on a roll.
Amazing what my daughter who is just shy of 20 understands about learning and foundational skills... Who knows if she will stay the course for teaching, but I think she'd be a really good one.
I know the first time I understood why when you multiply fractions they get smaller was when I taught it to fifth graders my first year of teaching. I think being someone who struggled with math at times made me an empathetic math teacher, eager to teach for understanding. I am sure Cecily will be the same.
ReplyDeleteSo wise! Teaching math also helped me better understand. I never knew my facts better than when I taught third grade. Dawn’s daughter is also pursuing education in college and it’s been fun to hear her stories and now this one it gives me hope.
ReplyDeleteWise, Cecily! That she can name the skills, sequences and probable problems is a testimony of her understanding!
ReplyDeleteHow incredibly wise Cecily's observation was when she said, "They're teaching kids skills they aren't ready for. That's what happened to me, and it took forever to understand it because I kept trying to learn new things when I didn't have the things I needed to learn them figured out..." I concur with that. I see that with my own child this year as I'm homeschooling. So much of school is rushing kids ahead in math. Sometimes two lessons are taught in one day. The pacing is too quick. Blah blah blah.
ReplyDeleteCecily is going to have a positive impact on the education world if she's already thinking like this. I look forward to watching her flourish through your stories of her.
Proud of her!! I definitely had to think for a second on adding unlike denominators. She has so much experience with so many different ages. I'm impressed at how it's clearly all coming together in a bigger picture way.
ReplyDeleteSuch wisdom - Cecily is right. You crafted this story so well, Melanie, with the inclusion of your reactions along the way. I love your daughters' names!
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