Free Essay About Reading Reflection

Mathematics has been a tough subject to many students in schools. Many students say that it s difficult to understand mathematics and that it should be made a lot easier to be understood. It becomes worse for students who are taught mathematics using symbols and a language they barely understand. I used to think that a student can understand mathematics even when taught in a different language. Little did I know that the symbols should be explained so that students can understand what the whole concept is all about. It is also important for a student to understand the basic procedure so that he or she can solve mathematical problems. From this week's readings, I learned that mathematics not easy for many students. It is even worse for students who use English as their second or third language and have to study in America. Some of them are bright and can easily understand all the mathematical concepts, but the problem is the language that the professors use to teach the students. This makes it difficult for them because they do not understand English well and well be forced to understand something that they cannot comprehend. This will automatically lead to poor performance, and foreign students will be told that they are not good in mathematics. This week's readings gave examples of students from different backgrounds that had a passion for mathematics but had to first learn English so that they can perform well n class and especially in mathematics. They also get to understand the deeper meaning in learning mathematics. It is not all about solving problems in class but can also help n solving real life cases (Billings).
My understanding of mathematics was also enhanced. Mathematics does not only help in solving the common problems we are taught in class but also real life issues. We should try to apply whatever we have learned in school outside. From one of the readings, a student learned that she could solve real life crisis like racism. This is a big challenge faced by immigrant students; they do not have a good mastery of keyword used in English as well as understanding syntax and grammar. This makes it difficult for them to apply mathematics because even if they have the idea, they do not know how present it because of the language barrier. This way, my mind was expanded further. My group members also made a clarification for me. I used to think that these students would be presented with examinations different from ours so that they can understand well. This was not the case. They had to use the official language that is taught in school regardless of whether they understood or not. This was not fair. It will force students to skip some of their classes to attend English classes (Bresser Melanese and Sphar). Their classmates will be far ahead of them by the time they are done with studying English. It would also show that they have to pay some extra money in order to learn English. As students and their friends, we should help each other understand English. Learning a second language is not easy but with determination and help from others, it helps. This is one of the solutions to the immigrant students. They should seek help from their classmates so that they can learn and understand English well. This will improve their performance in mathematics. They will understand keywords, syntax and grammar to help them solve a mathematical problem with ease just like they were used to in their first languages. Teachers should also be patient with them. From the readings, one of the teachers had to be patient and for one decade, his student was good in mathematics.

Works Cited

Billings, Gloria Ladson. But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy, (2008). Print
Bresser, Rusty., Melanese Kathy, and Sphar Christine, Equity for language learners (2009). Print
Gutstein, Eric (Rico), “And that’s just how it starts”: Teaching Mathematics and Developing Student Agency (2006). Print