Graduation Speech : Mathematics, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics

As a student starting off their schooling career there is a heavy focus on two subjects, that being Math and English. Within my elementary school career, I excelled in math and seemed to struggle with English as I was an ESL student. I struggled with English for years, but was able to learn Math very quickly. As a Mexican- American student, my family was not able to provide as much help with English as they were with Math. Regardless of any language barrier I could have had with teachers or my own parents, math was something I could grasp. I remember by third grade year, I had mastered multiplication tables and I was extremely proud of myself. However, by the time I began middle school I was already losing some of my strength in math.

As I am approaching the end of my educational career, it is time for me to evaluate how well I will do teaching a subject I struggled in elementary school, math. Math is a subject I had a love hate relationship with. I liked it when I was good and hated it when I struggled. I noticed this pattern not only because of my abilities, but also of my teacher’s abilities to teach the subject. My goal is not to be a genius in math but I do want to be able to help and problem solve when my students have a struggle.

The activity was for my student to make up his own story problem using a given theme and to make up two numbers to get to a number of the given sum. During the activity my student was somewhat successful with finding two numbers that made the sum he was given, but often times got confused on the wording of the sum problem. For example he would write “ I have 2 socks if he got 6 socks” then would stop. Through out the process I had to be say things like “I don’t know what I am suppose to solve” or “What is suppose to go at the end of the problem?”. After I’d ask those problems my student would usually try and charm me into giving him the answer, but I would just act super confuse and try and guide him into the answer. After many redirections and questions I could successfully help him make a story problem that made sense, but it took around ten minutes to successfully do this. I learned that my student knows how to solve problems, but sometimes he would get caught up in the detail of spelling a word, how he wrote a word, or would get distracted. I also realized that he can struggle with the foundation of a story problem and how to construct one. This semester I plan on helping my case study student successfully write story

Walking down the hallways of Trimble Technical High School as a freshman felt very intimidating. Being a shy and insecure person, I felt so little and worthless compared to all the other students. In my mind, everybody was better than me, and I am ashamed to admit I based my worth on social standards: popularity, physical appearance, and recognitions. For most of high school, I stood in the background as a spectator unsure of myself, afraid to raise my hand or join in on conversations for fear of what other people would think of me.

To begin, I attended Borel Middle School in San Mateo, Ca. The first year was really hard because I was in sixth grade and didn’t really know anyone but my friends that I went to Elementary School with. All throughout my three years at Borel I strongly believe that I would be going to Aragon High School. My final year at Borel was the worst year of school in my life! Most of my teacher were expecting us to do a minimum of at least three hours of homework every night. I would never have time to do anything with my family, even on the weekends I would spend at least an hour of doing homework. Then I would have to study for at least three or more tests a week. I never had any time to enjoy my life. Thats when I started to hate school. I would wake up and never want to go. I would be paranoid that I did not do something or get something wrong and the teachers would yell at me. The only teacher that I loved being with my my spainish teacher, Mrs. Pietri. We had the best relationship ever! Everyday at lunch I would go to her class and help her out with anything and just hang out with her. I would tell her all of my struggles and she would try to help me through them all. So then by the end of the year, teachers started to attack us with work. On the last week of school I had to write a paper on this topic and it was worth half of my grade so I could not mess up on that project. Even during winter break and spring break I had things to do. I hated school. But then as the year

For years, students are brought up and inspired by the adults in their lives. When thinking back on all the people that have helped me strive to be the person I am today, and the person I eventually want to be, I’m instantly reminded of all of the teachers that have left a mark on me. Specifically my eleventh grade algebra teacher, Mr. Hart. He showed me that there is nothing wrong with having a love of math. Ever since grade school I've enjoyed puzzles and numbers and the “ah ha” moment when it all finally came together, but anytime I tell someone I enjoy math, they look at me with a look of disgust. It seems to be known that math is supposed to me the “most hated subject” and I’d love to change the way students and even adults see it. Spending the majority of my life in the school systems I have seen that teachers have a societal responsibility to shape their students into who they will become in the real world, and that is what I am going to strive to achieve.

(Graduates of Saint Joseph’s University class of 2020, I, Nicole Schall welcome you here today to this wonderful celebration. It is so nice to see all of your smiling faces together one last time. I would like to thank President Reed, the administration, and that crazy professor who almost who almost failed me freshman year for the opportunity to speak here today. The one who almost caused me not to be standing here today. First and foremost, graduates, congratulations on all of your achievements thus far. Parents, professors, friends and family you should be proud of each and every graduate sitting here on St. Mary’s lawn today. Give yourself a round of an applause. (round of applause sound effect) Can you believe it is already graduation? Time really does fly when you’re having fun am I right? I can only speak for myself, but I’m sure many will agree with me that freshman move-in day seems like yesterday. But truth be told you all have grown since freshman move-in day, not just in height, or from the freshman fifteen, you are all smarter, brighter, and ready to take on the world.)

As result of creating and implementing this artifact, I realized that the most effective lesson plans are those which initiate with the final assessment in mind. So, I applied a pre-test at the very beginning of my lessons with every different group I would be teaching to measure a starting point or the amount of pre-existing knowledge on the topics to be taught. Based on this, I planned the instruction to deliver and how to differentiate it.

Being a tutor for two terms, I helped elementary students who struggled with math to learn the fundamentals. My buddy, Jacob, had struggled with ADHD and math for a majority of his grade school life. Upon meeting him, it was clear that he had a sense of dread towards math and me, as I was the one teaching him math. His dislike for math was exhibited when he filled out the first evaluation test of the term; he had scored his fondness of math a 1 out of 5. Initially, it was difficult to attain his attention for more than minutes at a time, and he was generally disinterested in the content I was teaching him. However, as time went on, I got to know Jacob. I discovered his two favourite things in the world: art and food. My learning curve was steep as I quickly adjusted my teaching style to match his interests. I motivated him with small snacks at the end of each question set and gave him periodic breaks. In these breaks I felt that we an invaluable had a bonding moment because we shared the common interest of art. I was touched to see his joy and admiration when I was able to draw his favourite Pokemon for him. At the end of the two terms he filled out the evaluation test again, this time scoring his fondness of math a 3 out of 5. Though it may not seem like a high score for the average student, it was a vast improvement from his 1 out of 5 and meant a great deal to both him and I. Experiencing

As the summer of 2014 came to an end, I was looking forward to the quiet, still days ahead. For the first time in twenty years I had a planned break, my calendar was intentionally cleared for the rest of the year. For as long as I could remember my life was similar to a roller coaster, traveling full speed in constant motion through ups and downs, and a break was imperative. A couple years earlier, I unexpectedly quit my job of fifteen years to home school my youngest son who was struggling to survive amongst many learning challenges after a disheartened school meeting. Learning how to endure day to day was met with a set of new challenges, from trying to teach a difficult child to read, to figuring out how to budget a family on a single income. As time went on, life began to slow down, my son worked hard to close his educational gaps and was eager to return to school and I, for the first time in my life, was looking forward to taking a step back before contemplating the future. At this point I was unaware of the direction my life would soon take and how it would bring me to question what I knew about myself. In life we are often conditioned to stay connected to what is known, fearful to take risks, however life is filled with endless opportunities if we are willing to face our fears, take risks and be open to learning something new.

The Fall of 2010 was about as normal as every other fall that preceded it. The leaves changed colors and the weather got colder. It also meant that school was back in session. To me, fall time meant athletics were back in season. I was entering 7th grade and I was bummed that summer was over but excited because I was almost a year older. I was about to turn thirteen years old; I could almost call myself a teenager. I had always participated in sports but this was my first year that I could play middle school sports. I tried out for the football team and made it. I officially was an athlete for my school and I could not have been more excited. I felt like I mattered. My relationship with my father was like any other. Or at least I thought. As the season went on, the only time he came to anything of mine was to pick me up from practice or after an away game; to make it worse, he never came to any of my games which disappointed me. But it never occurred to me that something was weird between us.

This chapter has got me thinking a lot about gifted and talented programming. I remember starting back at a new public school in 5th grade. There was a select group of students who were considered for special gifted and talented pull-outs from time to time. These students had been selected in elementary school. So when I started school in 5th grade the opportunity to participate was not offered to a new student. I would not have considered myself a gifted and talented student, but I always felt as if I had something to prove because I was friends with several of the these “special” students. I also received equivalent grades as these students. Looking back, though I felt jealous at the time, I now realize I would have overwhelmed myself with the weight of responsibility for being in that programing. I understand parents wanting to have their children be asked to participate in these groups, because selfishly it would give you as a parent a confidence boost. It brings on the “I knew my child was the smartest, they did get their good genes from me,” attitude. I really appreciated how much they focused on the pressure these students face whether internally or externally. As a student I already internally pressured myself to get straight A’s, which I accomplished, because I pushed myself to achieve that goal. I think had I been in the gifted and talents programming I would have imploded upon myself under that kind of pressure. If a parent is considering having their child

I was able to obtain and review my school FCAT scores and components from the 2013-2014 school year. We have yet to receive our FSA breakdowns. The scores we received from the FSA was just 10th grade pass or fail. Reviewing the 2013-2014 FCAT scores and components reading produced the lowest scores for this particular school year. I must say that even though reading produced the lowest scores for that school year with an overall reading readiness component score of 85. This was 9-point increase from the previous year, which was a 76. This shows that our students are college ready and prepared to take both the SAT and the ACT test.

Pre-assessment: In the previous lesson, students learned the essential information related to registering to vote (such as the age, who can vote, and how someone registers to vote, etc). All of the students present at school today accurately completed their registration voting card. This activity lends itself well with this lesson as students will continue to build upon their knowledge of key vocabulary terms through participating in a real-life election for a class snack.

I want to teach math in New York City because I will be able to communicate the significance of math in everyday life. The math that adults use to pay bills, manage their budgets, tax preparations, as well as other things are significant. Using real-life situations would capture a students’ attention since it is aligned with their interests. Depending on the grade level, students start to question the relevance of a subject to their future. I love the gratitude and appreciation students show when they succeed in math. As a person who grew up in NYC, I can provide guidance both in, and outside of the classroom. I am familiar with the many pitfalls that await students in this urban setting. I hope to inspire and become a role model to students. Excelling in math can lead to students exploring careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).