Trying to explain things that come naturally to me

I taught two classes of Algebra I today. It went quite productively. Mr. Griffin gave the lecture but I helped the kids on their homework. Polynomials. If there was one thing I remember from taking that class, it was polynomials, because basically all the classes I took at Milton needed those skills. So hopefully, because it’s not an ideal time to learn (Spring fever), the kids will remember this.

They were working on Difference of Squares and the Perfect Square Trinomial patterns. It’s hard to teach someone such a basic concept, even harder to teach them what a term was. By the time I am taking Calculus, these concepts come so naturally to me that when someone asks me why I do it, I’m tempted to say, “I just do. It’s just what I do when given this type of situation.” It’s like teaching a child how to read. You just do…

But the explaining Mr. Griffin did at the board in the beginning of class was really clear. He’s good at explaining things in eighth grade terms, saying exactly what he is going to do and how he is going to do it. And he talks loudly and pronounces really well. When his other student teacher (who actually just left) was going over something with the class, she didn’t talk as forcefully or as confidently as he did. I think that separates a teacher with experience and a teacher-to-be. Mr. Tyler lectures in his class the same way that Mr. Griffin does, and I think that kind of style works well for a lot of people.