NAME:
Ms. Metcalf
SCHOOL:
Salida Middle School
CLASS:
7th/8th Math - AVID
SCHOOL PHONE:
209-545-1633
I have been teaching now for 10 years. I started out teaching sixth grade at
Sisk Elementary. When that school switched to K-5 I moved over to the Middle
School. I now teach 8th grade Algebra 1 and 7th grade honors math. I am also
a trained AVID instructor, and I love it!
I have a 16 year old daughter. She is an Honor student at Thomas Downey High
School, and is a very involved student. She would love to attend Stanford
University, where she was also born, and pursue a career involving
mathematics.
Together we have a little dog named Rusty. We love to travel and are
rarely at home. If we are not on an adventure you can probably find us at
the movies. I recently have taken up running and find myself being persuaded
by my sister to compete in 5K and 10k races. I am currently training for a
half marathon! One of my biggest accomplishments recently is loosing over 75
pounds.
My goal is for students to become problem-solvers in their current and
future world. By relating mathematics to real situations in the world, I
hope to reveal to them how interconnected their learning environment can be,
regardless of how the subjects are broken up for them in the school setting.
I see myself as a facilitator of learning more than a lecturer of facts.
This puts the focus on the development of a student's understanding of
mathematics rather than my dissemination of knowledge. I strive to foster a
conceptual understanding of mathematics. This involves going beyond the
teaching mathematics as a fixed system of procedures. Mathematics is a
boundless region of insight and discovery. It is the recognition of
patterns. It is akin to music in its complexity as well as its simplicity.
A good instructor of mathematics challenges the student to explore and
investigate a math problem and to come up with their own strategies for
arriving at a solution. This places the emphasis on the process rather than
the solution itself. I try not to say "yes" or "no" when a student asks me
if this is the right answer. I ask them to tell me how they arrived at their
solutions. Relying on the solution as "the right answer" fosters a
dependence on the teacher. The students must learn to rely on their own
reasoning as justification. Thus a student develops mathematical competency.
Key words that characterize my class are "process," "discussion,"
and "cooperation." The development of an understanding of mathematics is a
process that evolves through discussion and cooperation among the members of
the classroom. Mathematics is not a tedious, tired, and worn-out subject. It
is a living and vibrant form of communication and problem-solving which I
enjoy sharing with students.