When I Realized I Was the Tier 1 Problem

I began dumping my math apprehension on close to 150 kids in August of 2010. I was a brand new teacher and education had become my second career, or maybe even third. I was all mixed up and life was "lifeing" even back then. Another story for another day.

All throughout school, math and science had been my thing so I just planned on using all of that 90s knowledge to teach kids in 2010.

One standard I remember vividly and even now, I still cringe when I think about it, was

When I didn't know any better and I made my kids copy and paste.

what we now know in Texas middle school math as 7.4D - solve problems involving ratios rates, and percents (also includes percent increase and decrease). I am certain I must've watched a video that told me to turn the percent to a decimal by moving the decimal twice and then multiplying by the number.

Cue the white board and the step-by-step notes that they then had to copy into their notebooks. Oh how proud I was of my steps that were outlined in color with my favorite purple Expo marker!

Before you choose to want to have a math fight with me, is this a strategy? Absolutely. My transference of foolishness was that I only showed them one way and what else did they have to know how to do? Multiply. Multiply decimals. Multiply multi-digit numbers.

Can you guess where my frustration began?

Very few knew their multiplication facts.

What happened then? The math took longer. I grew upset because somewhere between 4th and 7th grade, it was engrained within me that you had to have all of your facts memorized and if you didn't, you were the problem.

Back to the anguish I caused in my 7th grade classroom. I had pacing to keep up with. I had a headache to fix. I had an upcoming quiz or test that I had to give so the last thing I had time to do was to figure out why some of my students could not compute this math.

I remember praising those who could and I know that had to crush those who were trying to get there. But, Mrs. Hawkins was the cool math teacher so I allowed my relationship with my kids to overshadow what I was silently, and sometimes very loudly, adding to their disgust for math.

The end of the year came, I won Rookie Teacher of the Year and when the 2011-2012 school year started I went right back to the same practices.

My life did not change until my Principal, Dr. O, took me to Denver in the summer of 2013 to the Solution Tree RTI@Work Institute.

My entire brain was blown. The mirror was up and I saw myself as the problem. Throwing myself into the work of Dr. Buffum and Mike Mattos caused a 180 degree turn in my instruction.

I sought out multiple representations of how to teach myself the math so that I could then share my new love of math with my kids. I saw intervention not only as the rescue, but the ultimate coach in helping me fix MY tier 1 problem.

"If you have 800 students in Tier 2, you don't have an intervention problem. You have a Tier 1 problem." (Mike Mattos)

Growing my knowledge of WHY the math connects and asking my students the same was my pivot I needed.

But it also meant I had to take the time to reflect on my issues. Where they came from. What I was saying to my kids even when thought I meant well.

Because as Dr. Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

This blog is for the teachers who are willing to be honest enough to ask:

What have I passed on without realizing it?

Because everything we see in our classrooms from the anxiety to the disengagement coupled with the rushed guessing, and the refusal to try isn’t just about the kids. It’s a mirror. It reflects what we’ve modeled, what we’ve reinforced, and what we’ve believed about math and ourselves.

This blog isn’t about tips and tricks. It’s about truth.

Teacher efficacy is the work. It always has been.

Next Up...The Things We Say Out Loud

Also, please comment below. You do not have to "sign in" or have a username to do so. Your engagement helps me write better content. Thank you!