My favourite and least favourite math teachers!

In terms of formal mathematics education, due to being a math major, I've had 20 MATH instructors during university, and another 8 during secondary school. I've also received assistance from my parents, some family friends, TAs and formal supports. So many have had a really positive influence on my journey, shaping the inner math teacher I hope to one day bring to the world! Others have, unfortunately, been examples of what not to do. 

Here were some of my favourites: 

- Ms. P in grade 8 realized my potential for doing well mathematics, even when I thought I was terrible. As someone that bawled after school in front of my mom and teacher the previous year for not understanding integers, Ms. P gently filled the gaps and eventually recommended me for the AP program. She made herself available, and despite being one of the underrated teachers at school, she was a hidden gem for us math kids.

- Ms. C was the only secondary school math teacher that had formal mathematics background, and she brought so much passion to the classroom. She frequently used props, had the nerdiest themed posters all over her wall, the coolest warm-up activities, assigned just the right amount of homework, and her windows had numbers and formulas written all over. She was also so sweet, encouraging, caring, and honest. I had the opportunity to peer tutor her 8th graders once I became a senior, and it was one of the most fulfilling and enlightening experiences. 

- Mr. M was an absolute delight! Though he had no math background, he loved organization, and structured his classroom around that. He was incredibly systematic and had a great sense of humour, so our class really started to feel like a family. His seating plan was designed in a U, which allowed us to all engage with each other and focus on him simultaneously. He made a point to get to know each one of us, and I always fondly remember the things he told my parents during Parent-Teacher interviews. 

- Dr. W was very approachable during his office hours, and his assignments were tricky but very satisfying to work on. He knew his content really well and was able to bridge the gap between his knowledge and ours. He was also very real with us, and often related back to his undergrad years, which made us feel a lot less lonely. I distinctly remember the time he came into class and described the horrible nightmare he had that night- it was that he hadn't studied for a pop-midterm. But he was the professor! 

- Dr. L has had the toughest assignments I've come across during my undergrad. They were so difficult that he didn't give any midterms or final exams. BUT. He was so passionate, relatable, engaging, and connected to our struggles as students, which made up for it. One time, he extended a deadline for the whole class based on my request, and I felt so heard as a student and like a hero to my class. The fact that he made an effort to listen to our feedback and adjusted the class in those ways, showed how much he cared about our learning. 

The ones who were my least favourite:

My least favourite math teacher was... Jk, I won't name names. But my least favourite math teachers were those who didn't care about our education at all. These were educators that: 

- When I asked for help, would refer me to an answer key, shame me for asking for assistance, remark- "you're in xx year, why haven't you learned that?", and make themselves unavailable. 

- When I went attended their class, it was clear they took the position for the financial gain. They would teach so robotically it would be painful to attend, read off notes the entire class and be unable to explain any errors, walk in as soon as it started and leave the moment it ended, be too quiet to hear, too boring to listen to, and too aggressive with murmurs from the audience. 

- When I think about their personality, they wouldn't have much from my perspective. They would refuse to make eye contact during the class, focus their body entirely to the blackboard, make decisions solely by the syllabus, cancel office hours without warning or alternatives, expect our 100% engagement without giving a smile, and have the same criticism from students of previous years. 

- When I think about the workload, it made no sense. The homework assignments were imbalanced, uninspiring, overwhelming, and a waste of time. The exams were worth way more than they should have been, and were not a fair assessment of the knowledge we should have acquired at that point in the course. Some exams were intentionally impossible to complete, for the sole reason of maintaining historic statistics. I still have no idea why the historical statistics of grades is relevant! 

These teachers made me really question my existence as a math major, and which was terrible, because that was a significant chunk of who I was. They didn't try and their dullness was contagious.