Blog Post 8: Planning A Teaching Experience and "Building Bridges"

Since my Major is Early Childhood Education I had to think of something interesting that a first grade teacher would and could teach. A lot of different things to teach came to mind, but one stuck out. A thing that I would be able to teach young children about is doing simple addition and subtraction because that age is when you first start learning about the basics Math, and all the other core subjects. In chapter four when Bill Ayers is talking about "building bridges" I believe he is talking about building a personal relationship with a teacher, the work that they are teaching, and their students. The bridge is connected between the three things because all of these combined can lead to great success in and outside of the classroom for both the teacher and student. If a teacher is able to build a bridge with themselves and students through math it can lead to a much better environment in the classroom which in turn will make the teacher earn respect for the students and vice versa. Another positive aspect about building bridges through simple addition and subtraction with students is that maybe they can really start to enjoy it. Then, it becomes something they enjoy more and more each year as they continue on with their education. Finally, they find a major with math in it because of the healthy bridge that was built with them and the subject as early as first grade.

If I am to teach this kind of math to young students there are many things one must keep in mind. First, I'd need to realize that not all of these students are going to get it right away because this can be their first introduction to any kind of math in their life. You need to go in to teaching every subject with an open-mind because you don't know what these kids know and don't know. If I were to assume that my students just know how to do everything I as the teacher would be setting most if not all of them up for failure. I need to realize it is going to take time and we all learn at a different pace. Another important thing I would have to do is explain all the different ways to solve a problem and how to get the answers. You could tell them there is calculators, but if they use them they may not learn it as easy as the other students. Also, you have to show them how to "carry" a number for an addition problem such as "18+17." Finally, you would have to tell them to practice it a lot and try it on their own time. There are many factors that go into teaching something and building bridges, but these are the main things for this type of teaching experience to young children. It is very important for teachers to build bridges with students because at the end of the day it is only a positive experience for both sides and can lead to great success in the future.