Let me preface this blog entry (blentry?) by apologizing for the frantic tone--I'm writing this in the last fifteen minutes of my plan time right before the subject of my entry is set to take place.
I am terrified of symmetry!
There seems to be one or two topics (especially in math) out there that a teacher gets really nervous about teaching. For me, that's symmetry. It's one of those concepts that seems really easy in my head but is mad difficult to explain to an 8-year-old.
Like a rectangle, for instance. It has the vertical and horizontal line of symmetry, but explaining that a doggone diagonal line doesn't work as a line of symmetry...for me, it's like explaining rocket science. I don't know if I was sick the day my college professors taught "Symmetry: Revealed" or maybe I was just doodling "Miss Boyd," on the back of my notebooks, but somehow, I developed a nervous "tick" when it comes to this subject. Honestly, I think it's that we spent so much time in college talking about students' misconceptions that I worry about setting my students up to misunderstand concepts.
Four years later I've developed a strong sense of confidence as a teacher, but I think the fear still lingers. It's silly, really, but I think a good educator should admit to weak spots in his or her instructional practices and learn from past mistakes. So in five minutes time, I'm ready to churn out the most rockin' lesson possible and make symmetry shake in its boots.
Wish me luck!
