No, not the ugly. Not the Bad either. Throughout my high school years, I have had the privilege in mostly surrounding myself with great math teachers as I always took higher level and enriched classes in high school. Most the math teachers I have had in high school were teaching math because they loved to. But also, I think my experience can be attributed to the fact that my fellow classmates were all interested in math as well.
I think that most of my math teachers tried to incorporate games into their lesson plans. Of course, when I was in high school, I didn't always enjoy the teachers but upon reflection, I think the teachers did a wonderful job bringing out the best mathematician within me. I liked that a lot of examples were used in class to illustrate key points. I also think that the different computer applications and fancy calculators really made learning math fun.
I also think that my great math teachers incorporated elements beyond the scope of the curriculum into the classroom. I think that a lot of students will find it interesting even if the students do not necessarily understand completely. I remember one time when a teacher taught us rotational conics in a grade 11 math class and even though I did not have the math knowledge to know about "the rotation matrix", I still found it intriguing and it really peaked my interest. That teacher also said that this is something I will learn in second year university math so he gave me something to look forward to.
I think I was a lucky person to have been in classrooms where everyone loves math so that the teachers went at a pace that suited the fast paced classroom. I think that a good math teacher is rare and I hope to change the stereotypes that math seems to have in the mind of high school students.
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