Michaela

= Math 10 = Michaela Kim I am currently a Grade 12 student, with most of my courses finished. I decided to take peer tutoring because I remember when I was in my courses, I found it hard to approach the teachers and was kind of shy in asking questions. Hence, I knew that if a student that is the similar age as me could help, it could make a huge difference. I chose math 10 because I am confident in the subject. I have taken up to calculus and have participated in various math competitions. It is actually kind of ironic, as is grade 9 and 10, the subject I hated the most was also math. I have found the fun(?) in math in grade 12 and have even decided to apply for the faculty of math, majoring in computer science at the University of Waterloo. My other hobbies include snowboarding and horseback riding. From this experience, I hope to learn and help a lot.


 * Week 1 (1)**

The first week I got to know the students in my class. I know my current teacher because she taught me calculus. Therefore it was easier for me to ask questions and ask for advice in order to help the students out. In class I felt like I was learning math 10 again. However it was pretty interesting because their curriculum was different from when I learned it. They had cool textbooks they could write on as well, unlike when I took the course. I knew there were going to be changes, so I asked the teacher to take a look at the new curriculum. I decided to study a bit of it myself, so I would not stutter when asked a hard question. Everybody seemed nice and I was very excited. However at the same time I was kind of nervous. I guess this is what most teachers feel when they teach for the first time. I hope I can get closer to the students. They already had their first test. I tried to help them review before the test. My goal is to get students to ask me lots of question and really take advantage of my presence and not be shy like I was. Math especially can be greatly improved with somebody’s help. I hope I can be a good peer-tutor.


 * Week 1 (2)**

This week a student asked a question I did not know. It was because this curriculum was taught in a different way than I learned it. I felt kind of embarrassed. This motivated me to study the subject again myself in order to prevent this. After the first test, I got to know who was struggling in the class. I went up to them and helped them when they had a question and looked to see if they have solved the problems properly. We moved on to chapter two. This chapter was on exponents. I was kind of vague on this topic so I took out the math10 textbook and studied it myself. While I was doing that, I remembered the time when I was a student in the classroom. It was kind of cool to be in a different perspective, as a teacher/peer tutor. It felt really good to be able to solve and explain hard questions the students were struggling with. Maybe this is why teachers love their jobs.