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I loved math as a child and all through my educational experiences. I took higher level math courses in college and continued to enjoy math. As a child I remember struggling with only two lessons - counting coins and arrays. In elementary school we had a special math and science course called SAM. I loved it because it provided us an opportunity to problem solve, work with others and find solutions. We completed challenges like building a bridge from popsicles, the egg drop and making a vehicle move with a balloon. In high school I struggled the most with geometry but was able to push through and work hard at it. I love that math has a final answer and rules. I like that there is a system, steps and process for solving math problems. Math was a favorite subject for me and I remember liking a lot of my math teachers. The one that sticks out the most is Mr. Gustafson. He was my high school geometry and algebra teacher. I liked him because he was goofy, funny, kind, caring and took an interest in his students. He was always trying to make us laugh and cracking jokes. I think a lot of students enjoyed his classes because he made his classroom fun when usual perceptions of math is dull and boring. I really appreciated his excitement for the subject.

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Though I did not dislike math in elementary school, I was keenly aware that I wasn't in the "top" math group-- things were very tiered in my school and like reading groups, math was taught in leveled groups.  I still did well enough in math, until I took trig in high school and I felt like I was studying Greek, with no support from my math teacher other than receiving the directive to re-read the book. I fell in love with geometry in high school!  It was the first time I felt very good about my work-- loved proofs and could see a true relevance to a subject I loved-- Art! Depending upon the teacher I had often made it a good or negative experience for me unfortunately. My 9th and 10th grade teachers made it a wonderfully positive and growing experience, but then that became the opposite experience for me my eleventh grade year, unfortunately. Math was never my favorite subject, but now that I have three kids who love it-- my head has turned and I truly enjoy learning through them and seeing the subject with fresh eyes and its relevance to my life now-- I enjoy most the tutors I have seen who make it fun and engage within the subject by incorporating the student's style of learning!

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1. I don't remember disliking math as a child. I remember getting frustrated and "checking out" as an adolescent. Thought I just wasn't a "math person." What I liked about math was the discovery of it. Some things click right away and you know the answer, but some things take investigation and trial and error. That error led me to think I wasn't good at it, though. Math for me, was not positive until a teacher in high school made learning fun. He explain that its hard but there are steps to finding out what you need to know and that math is concrete, usually. Therefore if you work hard at learning the why, you can find the how.

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Reflect on your own experiences with math education 

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Reflect on your own experiences with math education 

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Did you enjoy math as child?

What did you like about math?  What did you dislike about math?

Was learning math a positive experience?

Was math a favorite subject?  Did you like your math teacher?

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1. I remember throughout elementary school that I did not enjoy math. I was always in the higher math class throughout school even into high school. Being in class with the older students I feel made me self conscious about my math skills which in turn made me doubt myself. I have never felt confident in math even to this day.
2. One thing I liked about Math was  the teachers that I had they always were very helpful and supportive.
3.I honestly did not like much about math and still get anxiety thinking about taking a math test to this day.
4. Learning math was not a bad experience because I always had teachers who would support me in anything and be available whenever I needed it.
5, Math was not my favorite subject. '
6. Always loved my math teachers!

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As a young student, I enjoyed math a great deal.  During elementary school, I would say I was good at math and found it easy.  This even continued for most of middle school.  However, by the time I got to high school, I lost interest in math, mainly due to the amount of homework given out daily.  I found it difficult to balance a job, sports, social life, and school during high school and so my homework typically got pushed off.  This was mostly completed by copying it off of my now wife, Katie.  Thanks Dear :)

I always enjoyed it when I solved a difficult math problem, as it felt rewarding- like completing a difficult puzzle.  I remember really enjoying geometry during the start of high school.

I found it difficult to try to catch up in class if the math work was ever put off, as it builds upon itself.  I also disliked my math class as a junior in school because it was our first class which started at 7:20.  I had tried to switch out of this class for one in the afternoon and was told by our guidance teacher that time of day was not a good reason.

It is tough to say if learning math was positive or not.  I definitely would not say it was negative. I found, and still find, value in learning how to manipulate numbers.  I do not have any one specific math teacher I thoroughly remember so I guess they also did not have a positive or negative effect on me. However, I have a father who is a math teacher at a technical college and so he always tried to push me with math, as when I was a child he thought I was good with numbers. He was the one I always went to, even during my undergraduate, for help with reviews.

I would not consider math my favorite subject, it was social studies growing up.  However, I also currently enjoy economics which can definitely have a math portion to it.

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Overall, I struggled a lot with math and it wasn't that my teachers weren't good, but it was just so hard for me to understand conceptually. Things got a lot better for me after I started learning to read and play music, but I don't think I grasped math concepts until high school, and even now I still don't understand it. So math was my least favorite subject by far because it just hurt my head and was nowhere near as easy for me as my other subjects.

I had some great math tutors though who helped me in elementary school to not be so far behind. One in particular, Mrs. Falkner, was my tutor for four years, and it took me all four years to learn multiplication and the idea of fractions. In fact, I think I still left her not knowing fractions. But she was so patient with me and tried so many strategies. I loved going to see her every week and never felt discouraged by my lack of progress.

I still struggle with math now and never made it beyond basic algebra, but I think that my struggles will help me to be a better teacher for those students who have trouble grasping the concept of math and abstract thinking!

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Overall, I liked math as a child. Some of my favorite math classes were in high school- algebra, geometry, trig, calculus -  I liked the challenges, the teachers and being able to work ahead. Something I disliked in elementary math (I had nightmares for awhile) was a practice where we were drilled out loud, in front of the class, on multiplication and division facts. I never like standing in front of the class and I like time to think about answers. But by high school methods changed and math was one of my favorite classes. Now, substitute teaching, math is one of my favorite classes to teach.

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I really enjoyed math as a child.  In high school, there was a semester where I had 2 math classes and I went into college as a math education major, which eventually changed.  I enjoyed my classmates in class.  Most of my classmates were in the same math classes and we all really enjoyed math and liked working together.  I had a very positive experience learning math all through high school.  I love thinking about how numbers work.  My favorite was algebra because I enjoyed thinking about different ways to show numbers and manipulating numbers to express something different.  Overall, I would say math probably was a favorite subject through middle school but I enjoyed a high school teacher who I had for 2 math classes very much because of how fun both math classes were.  The only thing I can think of that I disliked about math would be when time and speed are crucial.  I feel that I like to take my time and check my work a lot and the only times that I felt discomfort is when time and speed are involved.  In my current job, I am a math and reading interventionist and I love that I get to use math everyday!

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I did enjoy math as a kid- it was my favorite core subject in school in elementary school. I was pretty good at it and liked that I was able to actually feel success. I liked learning about how math worked and seeing how it relates to the real world. I also liked when my teachers were passionate about it, which seemed to be my 4th/5th grade teacher. I didn't start disliking math until I got into middle/ lower high school when I got bored in Math class (because I wasn't challenged) or there was too much stress on grades. Overall in my math education I disliked when there was so much stress put on getting everything right and not on it's ok to mess up and just keep trying or asking for help.
I felt like as I got older math became less of a positive experience for me. Also there were some math teachers I really liked, as I mentioned my 4th/5th grade teacher and others who were not as helpful, such as when I got higher into middle school.