I didn't think it would happen at such a young age, but in my 1st grade class I have already started to see how math can quickly become a student's least favorite subject. My cooperating teacher follows the set curriculum given to her pretty closely despite her own frustrations with it. As I have observed and participated in math in the classroom for awhile now, I have come to despise the curriculum. There is no joy in trudging through a workbook and I silently groan alongside the students when they pull out their work. The material is completely disengaging and I can't figure out why the students are forced to do the same thing everyday.
When asked to decide between math and literacy as my focus for the TPA, I chose math with the intention of being able to try and really focus my efforts to that department and hopefully spark a little bit of life into the afternoon. I just hope that I can work around the constraints of following a set curriculum in order to show the kids that math is a part of everyday life and that it can be fun and challenging at the same time.
I love math and want the kids to share that love, but can it overcome the black hole the workbooks have become?
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