ABSTRACT
I do not know why, but I feel as though I have spent the last year living and breathing math, when in actuality, it has really been three short weeks. Every time I tell someone that I am taking a mathematics course over the summer, I get the usual "ugh, you poor thing!" or "what a horrible way to begin your summer." I admit-when the semester first began, I was an active member in that self-pity club. Now that the course has almost come to an end, I wonder where all the time has gone. I cannot believe what I am about to admit, but I actually enjoyed the past three weeks in this class. This course has not only reaffirmed my teaching philosophy, but it has added to its truth and strengthened it. My thoughts have not changed one bit. Moving away from a traditionallearning style I now realize that actions do speak louder than words. Children need to touch, see, and manipulate information in a way that the information is presented as a challenge. Just like video games, children want to master challenges and move on to the next challenge, or level, that awaits them. Effective teachers have the ability to flip on a certain switch inside a child' s head, advancing them to the next level. It seems that I have been able to connect so many things that were scattered around in my mind through this dass. I could better understand my math anxiety, and realize that I was not alone. I could connect my past failures with reasons and better myself through this. I could see how manipulatives could open my eyes to a concept that I had always found so difficult.
