Frustrations Teaching Math

Having the opportunity to teach math for over 25 years, I have found many days when you hit a brick wall. Whether it was in middle school, junior or senior high school, or at the community college, there were days when the new topic was not understood by the students. I could see it in their reaction (faces) to my explanation. Sometimes, I was the culprit. Knowing full well that the homework is a review of that day's topic, it must be delayed. As an educator teaching math, the crescendo of each day builds, as we go further into the school calendar. Someone, who missed out and could not grasp the idea, needed to be tutored. That luxury is not available. FRUSTRATIONS TEACHING MATH, gives the student an opportunity to see how basic math ideas are solved. Sometimes, I give two scenarios in solving a problem. Other times, a "cheating way" is shown, so that math can be understood and also be fun. Some of the topics covered are the various ways to factor a binomial, trinomial, or polynomial. Another favorite is grasping the concept of greatest common factor or least common multiple. Right triangle trigonometry for the middle school student is explained using boating as the source of frustration. How much to tip at a restaurant? What does a half-off sale really mean? Let us not forget the "story" or word problems that really cause concerns. Distance! Rate! Time! All these ideas plus games and many more mathematical topics are reviewed on my 45 day road trip from Delaware to Florida. Coming back, with several stops on the way home, we'll explore these "frustrations".