What do these children do while I am teaching? I am not really sure how many times I've told them that if there is a negative under the square root sign there will be an i...I can't tell you how many problems we've simplified to make i's. Still, on the test, they said the square root of -100 was -10, some said that it was -50, do add even more insult to injury.
The giver-upper in me asks, why do I bother. Why do I stress out every day trying to cram information in their brains. Why do I stay up making lesson plans and worksheets. Maybe I should just stop trying so hard.
The not giver-upper says, this is precisely why. The fact that they don't even read my test but give up before even opening it and decide to leave it blank instead of looking for the things they can do, or just rely on the math skills they had before even entering my class to at least do some addition and subtraction. Nope. They combine variables with real numbers, they multiply when there is a plus sign and add when there is multiplication. They break the rules of math because they don't know they exist.
I think the only answer is to keep trying. But with classes of 30, rowdy kids, how do I give them the personalized attention they each need? How do I teach instead of spending time telling them to be quiet and take their headphones out. How do I get them engaged and give them their confidence back? Because right now I think their fear and lack of self-confidence is keeping them from trying. It's a problem. I wish I'd started slower, but now I'm not sure how to slow down or go back. Slowing down is hopefully going to work, continuing to show the stuff I've been teaching, and giving them confidence, somehow.
I'll get there. I won't give up, hopefully. I have to remember my A2 kids were here this time last semester, then they did just fine (for the most part) by December. Keep chugging.
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