My Mathematical History

            Mathematics was the first course that I like when I was in elementary school. At that time I really liked mathematics. Learning mathematics was like playing a game. When I got a problem, I always tried to solve it. However, in the fifth grade, I had a bad experience in learning mathematics. I got a ‘killer teacher’. He would always use a wood ruler to hit students’ head if they did not understand the material. I never got hit but he does scare me.  Although my teacher was frightened me, my mathematics skills still increased.

            My experience in junior high school was a little bit different. Moving into secondary school was a new experience for me. I had to adapt with the new environment.  Being in a new environment was not easy. It effects how I learned mathematics. Being in a different environment made it difficult for me to understand the material of mathematics. Eighth grade was different. I got really comfortable with my mathematics skill because I got good teacher, good environment and also always got high scores in mathematics.

            After graduating from secondary school I choose to go to vocational high school. There, I felt comfortable in learning mathematics. It was easier learning mathematics there rather than when I was in junior high school. The topic of mathematics was always linked with other subjects that I was learning in the vocational high school.

            After I graduated from vocational high school I chose to learn mathematics education as my major in university. I do not know if it was the right choice or not. At the beginning I felt really confused. Maybe it was because I learned in a vocational high school. I feel that my prior knowledge of mathematics is lower than my friends and my mathematics skill is “different” from other. Until now, I still keep trying to motivate myself to enjoy mathematics as I used to. Finally, little by little, I began to feel comfortable with mathematics again. Learning mathematics likes a puzzle. We must put the pieces of our understandings together to understand the mathematics more deeply.