But in Year 9 I teach the "Cores"; in other words, normal people.
Most normal people don't like mathematics. So when they get into my classroom, and realize: here's a mathematics teacher who doesn't care that we suck at mathematics, they tend to have a good time. I asked them today:
"We LOVE mathematics, right?"
"Yeahhh!!" they cheered.
"WHY?" I demanded.
"Because we don't get into trouble!"
That sums up the Core mathematicians, i.e. the normal people. It's an emotional experience. For normal people, the mathematics classroom is a place of fear, failure, anger and bitterness. But in my classroom, it's a place of fun, word games, hangman, and occasionally, a little bit of algebra. I don't think either philosophy is better--I don't think people who don't like mathematics should be required to study it. But I cannot try to brutalize them into learning it. It is just not my style.
Every week I have lunch duty. I am required to police the cafeteria. At first, I thought: this is an easy job! but soon enough, one of the cafeteria workers kept screaming at me: "TEACHER!! TEACHER!"" and he pointed to a table with a big mess. Soon, I began to patrol very close to that table. It was full of Year 9 boys.
These boys just like to make a mess. They don't want to put away their dishes. Of course, I know most of them from Year 9 Core. They are normal people.
Today, I decided to sit amongst them. I did not say anything; I just listened to their conversation:
"Did you know they have Mountain Dew in Cambodia?"
"Really, they they have Mountain Dew in Cambodia??"
"No way, they they have Mountain Dew in Cambodia???"
"I'm not kidding, they they have Mountain Dew in Cambodia! 200 Baht for 12 cans!!!"
I guess that's what normal people talk about. I prefer Pythagoras.
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