Liams Math Profile
Liam September 12, 2016
Slit A Math profile
When I was very young I wasn’t surrounded by as much math as I was visual art and music. Up until about 1st grade I didn’t think much about math and I only used it for things like simple counting and basic addition. Once I entered 1st grade we started learning new math concepts and working on math as a given assignment. We had a group of packets that the teacher gave us. It was our job to finish them and once we were done, she would give us a new packet. I can be competitive, but in this case I wasn’t very motivated. I knew that it would never end. I would race to finish a packet, and then race to finish another, and then another, and it would never end. It annoyed me that I felt obliged to participate in this competition because my friends were doing it. I never actually wanted to race. This went on for many years and my main experience with math was a fast, hectic, packet assignment. 4th and 5fth grade were good, but I never felt like I fully understood math. Then I came into LREI and it all just seemed to click. It was a new kind of math. it was enjoyable and I was succeeding, instead of always being slightly behind. I felt- and still feel- really excited about math.
I like problem solving, having no idea what’s going on, and then working it out. When it comes together and all the work you were just doing and didn’t understand makes sense.
It’s frustrating when it takes you months to fully understand something, or you never do. Sometimes a new math concept makes sense fast and sometimes it takes a while. I think the most agonizing part is wondering if you’ll ever understand it, and just dragging along with the class half understanding the subject. I have been fortunate enough to persevere a little more, since I have come to LREI. I have always understood the math eventually, but I still think that for everything we learn, it takes time to process and think for a while.
In the past I did not consider myself a good math student. I went through stages at my old school, and at some points it was tough. At the beginning of 6th grade I thought it was all the same, until one take home test boosted my confidence and made me work harder. I think that at the moment I am a good math student, but I know that that can always change if somehow I lose confidence in myself. I have now learned that if I think that I am a good math student, it will not only affect my confidence, but also my motivation and my general state of mind.
Usually when i’m stuck, asking for other kids help works to a degree, but it’s hard for them and me to act like a teacher. I would take a lot of notes and study everything that I have jotted down. Sometimes, if we are just learning a subject and we have homework over the weekend, I will email the teacher or go to Khan academy for advice.