Mathematics is a perfect science that many find difficult for one reason or another. However, math is very rewarding, once the time is invested to master it.  Understanding math concepts give you to power to solve many hard to solve problem and serves as the foundation to many areas of study, including Engineering, Computer Science, Physics and Economics to name a few. Math CM has secured, what 3 Math teachers say they enjoy most about being a math teacher. Namely, Veteran Educator Ms. Ellen-Kate Horton, Senior Math Teacher and Department Head Mr. Khavansky Johnson and Senior Math Teacher and Instructional Team Leader Mr. Robert Steede.  Keep reading to hear from them.

What I enjoy most about being a Math teacher

From a very young age, mathematics and science were the subjects I enjoyed most in school. My mathematics teacher at The Berkeley Institute, Mr. Thomas Neville Tatem, really inspired me and I began to choose mathematics over science. During my high school days in Bermuda there were very few professional opportunities for blacks. Teaching and nursing were the opportunities available. I, along with many of my classmates, chose teaching. Upon returning to Bermuda after University where I had attained a dual degree in Mathematics and Chemistry, I became a secondary school teacher of mathematics.

I deemed it an honour to take on this important role and to accept the awesome responsibility. It is important that while imparting the knowledge expected from the curriculum, that we more importantly remember to focus on each student as an individual.  My goal was always to ensure that my students enjoyed mathematics.  We viewed it as a fun subject and I particularly enjoyed watching the excitement on the students’ faces and hearing it in their voices when they really understood and mastered a concept. 

I enjoyed watching them grow from timid children who were afraid to give an answer for fear that it might be wrong to confident young adults who were always ready to step out of their comfort zones and attempt anything new.  They had fallen in love with the numbers as I had before them.  They loved the challenges of working on new problems, new concepts, they were logical, they were becoming mathematicians.  I enjoyed seeing this and being a part of it.  They had recognized that they were in a safe learning environment and they soared. 

Today, more than a half century after entering the classroom, I enjoy the fact that there I left a lasting impression on most of my students and not a day passes when one of them does not mention it to me.  I hear from my former students regularly.  This is one of the beauties of living in such a small island.  One of my greatest joys was when one of my students from Warwick Secondary School chose to become a teacher of mathematics.  I had become to him what Mr. Tatem was to me.  Mr. Robert Steede followed in my footsteps.  For a while, I actually worked under him as I had returned to Bermuda after a time of living abroad and he was my Head of Department at CedarBridge Academy. 

Two years later, I worked for the entire system as a Mathematics Officer in the Curriculum Department.  I enjoyed another role in teaching, that of running workshops for teachers and assisting them with strategies that they could use in the classroom.  My many years as an educator has given me great joy and fulfillment.  Much later after retiring having spent more than a decade as a Permanent Secretary, I returned to the classroom and spent a year in a Middle school.  The skills are never lost.  It was as if I had never left the classroom and once again, I came across students who had very low self esteem and who really thought they were incapable of learning mathematics.  In a few months, they were happy young mathematicians. They, their parents and I shared in the excitement.  From there, another stint at Secondary School. 

Today, the excitement continues as I am the Person in Charge of a private preschool and I am now dealing with three year olds.  The excitement is real.  They are like little sponges.  They go home and teach the parents what they have learned in school.  I love it.  Recently, a parent reported to me that I had sent her to google.  When I questioned her further, her three year old had described a trapezium to her.  She had no idea what he was talking about.  We both enjoyed that moment. 

What ever level I have taught, I have seen growth in my students, and this is what I expect.  As long as I still see this, I will continue to give back to my community and my people.  Mathematics has been an important part of my life.  I also tutor elementary school students for the Reading Clinic where they focus on both mathematics and reading.  Many retired teachers still use their craft there, either in mathematics or reading. 

Just to mention an amusing moment I had very recently.  One of the teachers, Dwight, at the preschool has a friend whom I had taught in my early days.  The friend lives abroad.  When he learned that we were working together, he told Dwight to tell me that I would be proud of him as he is still using his numbers (he is an accountant) and he still remembers The Pythagorean theorem.  He recited it to Dwight.  I was amused.  I guess what I have enjoyed most, is seeing my students move on and continue to enjoy Mathematics and to know that many are using it quite competently in their chosen fields.

Math CM says a big thank you to Mrs. Horton for sharing what she enjoys must about being a Math teacher.

If you would like to leave a comment, feel free to do so in the comment section below this article.

What I enjoy most about being a Math teacher

I enjoy helping students to grow in areas that they are weak. It’s very rewarding to see students grasp a concept being taught and then putting it into practice and I see that they mastered it. Also, to see the joy on their faces when they pass the assessment with a high score, specifically the STAAR Test. When my principal asks a student what they have learned and they’re able to articulate it in a way that shows they really understand.

Math CM would also want to extend thanks to Mr. Khavansky Johnson for sharing what he enjoys most as a Math teacher.

What I enjoy most about being a Math teacher

I believe teaching is my calling.  I do not believe that in my 40 years of teaching in Bermuda that I wished that I did something other than teach.  For me there are many things I enjoy about being a mathematics teacher.  What keeps me coming back every September is the opportunity that at least one student who struggled in mathematics will come to love, or at least, like mathematics.  I am energized when students become engaged in the lesson and respond to my teaching.  I believe all students can achieve in mathematics and when they produce the evidence I am most encouraged.   The ultimate enjoyment will always come when a past student comes back to visit you or greets you in the street and say how much of a difference you made in their life. 

Math CM would also want to extend thanks to Mr. Robert Steede for sharing what he enjoys most as a Math teacher.

You have heard from three accomplished Math educators.  There is indeed intrigue, reward, fun and satiating in the numbers.