Teaching
What I like about teaching
The importance of mathematics cannot be overstated. After all, it is the language of the universe. Without mathematics, would we have ever put a man on the moon? Without mathematics, would we have ever been able to engineer the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco or the skyscrapers of New York City? Without mathematics, would there be computers or the World Wide Web? Without mathematics, where exactly would we be today?
But aside from such grand observations, mathematics is relevant to the everyday, to the here-and-now. Mathematics is about solving problems. It’s about asking the right questions and working to get the solutions. Anyone can benefit from mathematics by learning how to attack problems logically and interpret the answers. Critical thinking, which is central to solving many mathematical problems, is a skill which carries over to all walks of life.
These are important aspects of mathematics, but they’re not what I love about mathematics. What I love about mathematics is its intrinsic beauty. Good mathematics illuminates the connections between seemingly disparate things. Good mathematics gets under your skin and practically begs to be learned. Good mathematics tells you that something is true, and tells you why it’s true. Good mathematics, in its own way, is as beautiful as any painting or sculpture.
I love sharing the beauty of mathematics with my students. I want all my students to get as excited about mathematics as I do. That’s pretty much impossible, as some of my past students will tell you, but even if a student gets excited about just one topic, then I will count my teaching a success. It’s my job to help students connect with the material. In some sense, that’s easy, because mathematics is full of cool examples and fascinating connections. In another sense, it’s incredibly challenging, because each student connects with a different aspect of the material, and because mathematics can be hard. For a discussion of how I try to help students to connect with the material, check out my “Teaching Philosophy”, available as a link on the left.
The other thing I really love about teaching is connecting with students. I enjoy interacting with the class as a whole. I like to laugh and cut up a little bit, but I also like to get down to business and explore mathematics with students during class. Mathematics is a serious subject, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, too. I also like interacting with students individually, whether it’s answering questions during office hours or just shooting the breeze before or after class. I am most effective as a teacher in one-on-one interactions; this way I can tell much better what a student understands and what a student doesn’t understand, and use a teaching technique that best suits the individual student.
That’s why I say teaching is all about connecting. The teacher connecting with the material. The teacher connecting with students. Students connecting with the material. Students connecting with other students. It is precisely these connections that are so difficult, so important, so exciting, and so worthwhile.
