Teaching is a little bit like conducting an orchestra...
Every classroom is a function of its parts. Just as each instrument in the orchestra fulfills a unique role, so too does each student. Some are bold and commanding in their presence, like the trumpet or one of the other powerful brass instruments. Others are softer and more gentle, like the violin or the flute. Still some are more brazen like the cymbal, while others are more refined like the peaceful harp, or the soothing clarinet. Each instrument is a reflection not only of its inherent ability, but also of the personality that plays it. Alone, each of them can play a tune, but it is the sum of all that brings the music to life.
In and of itself a sheet of music and its symbols, characters, and lines may not be readily discerned. Yet when these seemingly random notes are played by the symphony we instantly recognize Beethoven's Fifth. In other words, there must be a conduit through which they come alive.
Mathematics is similar to a piece of great music. The strange symbols, language, and formulas by themselves are to some a random conglomerate of letters and numbers. But when they are translated into their physical embodiment, they become the tangible reality that explains our world and all that we see around us. Mathematics is merely the language we use to explain the universe.
Teaching is a little bit like being a conductor. Without someone to guide and direct the unique instruments in the symphony, playing the same sheet of music, the result is chaotic at best. The conductor makes the parts a whole. The musicians still breath life, emotion, and personality into the instrument, but the conductor sets the pace and creates the environment for music to happen.
Every student has within themselves the ability to learn the material and play the music of math. Often times it just takes the right environment, mentoring, and encouragement to discover this to be true. That is the conductor's job and the teacher's aim; to bring order out of chaos, to bind the parts together as a complete unit—to make the language of math understandable.
In and of itself a sheet of music and its symbols, characters, and lines may not be readily discerned. Yet when these seemingly random notes are played by the symphony we instantly recognize Beethoven's Fifth. In other words, there must be a conduit through which they come alive.
Mathematics is similar to a piece of great music. The strange symbols, language, and formulas by themselves are to some a random conglomerate of letters and numbers. But when they are translated into their physical embodiment, they become the tangible reality that explains our world and all that we see around us. Mathematics is merely the language we use to explain the universe.
Teaching is a little bit like being a conductor. Without someone to guide and direct the unique instruments in the symphony, playing the same sheet of music, the result is chaotic at best. The conductor makes the parts a whole. The musicians still breath life, emotion, and personality into the instrument, but the conductor sets the pace and creates the environment for music to happen.
Every student has within themselves the ability to learn the material and play the music of math. Often times it just takes the right environment, mentoring, and encouragement to discover this to be true. That is the conductor's job and the teacher's aim; to bring order out of chaos, to bind the parts together as a complete unit—to make the language of math understandable.