Significance of teacher's beliefs in teaching & My mathematics creeds - Entry # 2

I pretty much agree with the research and analysis presented in the articles (Kim Beswick & Merrilyn Goos) regarding mathematics beliefs, knowing and doing mathematics and its importance as a subject and as a tool.

What we believe about the subject as a teacher influence our teaching style and I think this then makes (or affects) student’s vision or belief about the subject. Teachers are the first ones who introduce the subject to the students and they are the main source for them to start believing what is this subject, how difficult or easy it is for them, do they like it or not. Hence, I would say teachers should be very cautious in their beliefs, words and actions about mathematics as it is going to reflect in their students which can last, sometimes, forever with their lives and we would be responsible for students’ love or hate for the subject.

Knowing and doing mathematics is not different than knowing something else in the real world (knowledge) and then to know where would it be applied when it comes to its application. Knowledge and understanding about something are two interconnected but different things. If we know something with understanding, that’s where we are in the position to reflect/transfer it. So being a main source for student’s perception about mathematics, teachers should demonstrate mathematics as a part of real world.

Mathematics is important to learn as it is just not a subject but a tool and a tool kit is not complete with a missing tool. It is about connecting ideas and sense-making. For me, it is also an enjoyment and a source of happiness by giving a sense of accomplishment.

My Mathematics Creeds

1. I believe that mathematics is not just a subject to learn and teach but it’s an affection and love. This passion about mathematics can make someone enthusiastic about it and it will lead towards making sound grounds of it.
2. I believe that learning mathematics is not just beautiful and pleasurable but also interesting to solve problems in the practical life. It helps to bring innovations, creativity and diversity in real life problems.
3. I believe that learning and teaching experience of this subject affects very much on one’s career selection and if we have good mathematics learning memories then most probably we will choose a career of educating this subject and by the quote “teaching is learning twice” we will be on a journey of always learning new things.
4. I believe that I feel enjoyment while teaching geometry in mathematics because drawing triangles, circles and rectangles using compass and scale is like doing an art work while solving the problems.
5. I believe that mathematics is one of the key subjects of all the inventions of the world starting from simple calculator to complex and super computers to huge buildings, bridges and even tabulating the results of medical experiments/researches and much more. I also believe if it was not mathematics then human might still be living in caves. 

"Blog About it" Entry # 1 - Mathematics Autobiography

“Mathematics is one of my favourite subjects”, it is not just a repeatedly used common sentence for me and its not just a sentence about liking a subject, I have a deep relationship and a connection with mathematics. The reason of this relationship is not that I used to be very good at doing mathematics but it was an inspiration to it. I was born in a house where mathematics used to be everywhere, my father was a mathematics teacher and he used to teach it in a school as well as at home (home tuitions), I saw him making a strong base of it first and then constructing a building on top of that passionately. It was very interesting to see how things are interconnected with each other and how mathematics building grows gradually as we go in advance studies.

My journey to mathematics began at a very early stage, I started to learn and teach mathematics at the same time, me and my sister were class fellows from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and I used to teach her mathematics, moreover, my father always encouraged me to teach his students at home. This is how I got inspired by this interesting subject and learning it had become an enjoyment by practicing it through teaching.

I believe mathematics is a subject that helps nourish the mind. It gives opportunity to think from different angles and gives freeness to make your own way to get to the solution. This subject is diverse and as we know diversity makes the life beautiful. I feel inner satisfaction and happiness when I get to the solution of a problem by solving it in a way I want and it would motivate me to do more and would never get tired of it.

In my opinion, mathematics is not just a school subject to learn and pass the exam, in fact, it helps us in our day to day personal and professional lives. Skills that we learn from mathematics may be applicable down the road like in learning other subjects, in our jobs and to excel better in other fields as these are transferable skills. Mathematics skills give us ability to identify and analyze things, to see the relationships and to solve a problem by thinking logically as well as critically.