I am fundamentally a person who believes learning is a beautiful, essential part of what it means to live and be human. Learning is the process by which we create ourselves, solve problems, forge relationships, and make sense of our world. I have always loved learning. From a very young age, I appreciated the new worlds that opened up when I read a book or solved a new math problem. I believe all people have the ability and the drive to learn, and that young people, especially, have a boundless capacity to expand their knowledge and learn to love learning. Furthermore, at the heart of human thinking and learning is mathematics. Math, as the language we use to understand our universe, is everywhere; it is proportion, symmetry, unity, art, music, science and nature. Doing math provides a unique opportunity to experience the beauty of the world, and to tap into the feelings of power and accomplishment that come with rich learning. Math also opens doors for us as involved citizens and is critically important to many careers and educational paths. Yet, in our culture, math often gets a bad rap. 

 

In the US, math literacy is uncommon. Culturally, many Americans both in and out of K-12 school are intimidated by math. This anxiety impacts a student’s ability to enjoy math as well as their motivation to do math and do well in math. Back when I was in high school, even as a traditionally high achiever, I was impacted by math anxiety. It often felt like getting a single wrong answer would be confirmation that I wasn’t smart enough or good enough, and it would make me vulnerable to judgment from my peers, so it was safer to work quietly and hide any struggles I was having. When my tests and assignments came back, I more often felt relief than pride. I loved the math itself, but the class culture of speed and perfection combined with a point-gathering grade paradigm left me fearful and risk-averse. In my classroom now, I believe that being aware of and sensitive to math anxiety is important to the success of my students, and addressing math anxiety is key to nurturing a love for math.

 

Studies have shown that building mathematical mindsets and emphasizing the learning process decrease math anxiety, create better classroom culture, and lead to greater learning. My philosophy embraces this ideal for math. I believe that for my students, when math becomes about having new ideas and understanding our world, rather than about losing or accumulating grade points, real learning takes place. To overcome math anxiety is to create a narrative about math that warmly invites students into deeper learning. I teach math as a pathway to learn core skills for engaging with the world, like logical thinking, recognizing patterns, solving problems, constructing arguments, critiquing reasoning, and understanding data. As such, I often refer to the Standards for Mathematical Practice, and communicate to students where I see them thinking and speaking mathematically. Additionally, in my classroom, I emphasize that by learning math as a member of a classroom community, we learn who we are, what we’re passionate about, how we relate to others, and how we work together in community. I believe math class should be a place where students meaningfully learn, and where their love for learning is nurtured as part of their whole selves. By emphasizing the practical importance of math, and its application to the world, the narrative is reset to show math as a tool for understanding the world, rather than a rote, timed exercise in getting the right answer. This develops a class culture centered on learning. Rather than framing math as a performance of smartness, where mistakes mean failure and inadequacy, we can frame mathematics as an ongoing process of thinking and learning, where making mistakes creates opportunities for growth, where sense-making is more important than speed, and where everyone always has more to learn.

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Ultimately, my philosophy is that learning is liberation and math is beautiful. I ask my students to come along for the experience.