Summary and Synthesis

These past few weeks have definitely been an eye-opener for me. Math has always been my favorite and best subject, so I never really worried about having to teach math. It comes naturally to me and I feel comfortable with it, so I just always figured teaching it would come naturally to me as well. After spending this last few weeks talking about manipulatives and different ways to make students think less about the answer and more about the process, I am now developing doubts that so many of my peers (from college and high school) have experienced for so long. I understand the importance of the concepts we have been talking about as well as the necessity for teaching reform mathematics, but I am feeling more frustrated than ever before and I can feel myself shutting. I suppose this is beneficial in the long run because I can now understand how my future students may feel when they aren't understanding. I have full faith that I will get a grasp on this way of teaching eventually, it's just hard to think of math from a different perspective.