I have very little in the way of distinct memories of my early mathematics education. I can recall glimpses of a workbook here and a test there, but I have no recollection of any one specific moment of mathematical wonder. What I do remember is that I did indeed enjoy math and quickly developed a reputation among my fellow students as well as the teachers for being a strong math student. I remember taking a pre-test for one of the math units in the third grade and scoring high enough that I was not required to participate in the classes for that particular unit. Instead I would leave class and go to another room all by myself and complete word problems from a higher grade level that the teacher had given me, which I often completed with ease and promptly returned to her for confirmation. One day I remember the teacher, perhaps bordering on annoyance that she couldn't keep me going in word problems, professed out loud "Ok Ryan, if you can do this problem then you're a genius." Now, to a bunch of third-graders you can imagine this was a fairly big deal. So I went back to my little room and went to work. After a few failed attempts and a hint or two from the teacher, I finally figured out the answer to the problem. And from that moment on, I was the kid who was good at math.
My next real memories of my math education come in the fifth grade. I was still very good in the subject but had began proclaiming a disdain for it altogether. Looking back this was probably a social ploy to fit in and be cool, since most other students truly did dislike math. I've actually taught with my fifth grade teacher and asked her about this very topic, and she also believes that I secretly did like math but was unwilling to admit it. Oh the things we do to fit in.
I remained among the top of my class on up through junior high, but upon entering Level I my always high math marks began to plummet like an '08 recession. I had floated through most of my early schooling without ever having to put in much effort, and quickly learned the hard way that this was not going to fly anymore. I still took advanced math in Level I and II but only got 66 and 63 respectively in the courses. At the end of Level II, my teacher Mr. Sheppard recommended me for the academic stream, which to me was a real eye-opener. By the time I got to Level III I had came to my senses, and ended up getting 77 in the final advanced math course of high school. I have to give at least partial credit to Mr. Sheppard for keeping me on the right path and always showing enthusiasm and love for the subject. He made me want to succeed. At the time I remember a school board official (who was also my friend's father) referring to Mr. Sheppard as the best math teacher in the province, and over time I've truly understood why. Mr. Sheppard is retired now and working at the project desk at Kent, having the time of his life helping people figure out their design problems. To me that sounds like fun! For real! And I guess I ave him to thank for that.
My main teachable is in fact not math, but physics. Now I always tell students "physics is a combination of math and thinking", but really they are two different things. In reality, a more accurate statement would probably be "you use math to do physics." In any case the two are closely linked. But I decided to focus on math education in my Masters program to better balance my teaching abilities in the subjects. I have never actually taught a math course on my own in my teaching career. Two years ago as a Numeracy Support Teacher, I co-taught ninth grade math with a teacher who had been teaching the course for years, an extremely valuable experience. We were able to do a lot of things most teachers only hear about in PD sessions. But overall, my experience in teaching math is nominal, a zygote of what I hope it will become.
I think there are two things that would help me as a math teacher at this point. The first is to sufficiently review some of the specific methods and concepts I learned four years ago in my B.Ed.'s math methods course. The second is to teach more math! There's no learning like learning from experience. In my teaching I focus more on the students than the content, and try to really figure out what works for the individual. The more experience I can get in utilizing the vast array of available methods and strategies in the classroom, the better I can hone in on what tends to work well.
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