Something that I encouraged by modeling as a teacher was that many new discoveries could be found if one is willing to take risks. Since deciding to become a teacher when I was 6 years old, I remember how fascinated I was with mathematics. Even though mathematics was very structu...
Teachers need to accept that it is alright to make mistakes. Although we try to be meticulous in the lessons we present, there are going to be occasions where errors are made. Your reaction to those situations will have an impact on students. Reacting with poise is important. Adm...
If each of us is to develop to our full potential, we need to realize the importance of constructive criticism. There will be times during our lives when we will hear comments about ourselves that are not complementary. Although our first instincts are to retaliate, we should ana...
If you want to be successful, you need to believe in yourself. The process toward believing in yourself begins by gathering information on any task you pursue. Knowing that you have gathered information to make informed decisions is very important in trusting that you will make t...
All of us should be receptive to learning from those around us. I learned that lesson when I was very young. As far as I am concerned, my decision to become a mathematics teacher when I was six years old impacted the teacher that I am today. Beginning from elementary school throu...
In your career and personal life you need to be flexible. Although planning for the future is important, there will be circumstances where it is inevitable that plans will have to be changed. It is important that a change of plans does not frustrate you in any way. When planning,...
During my lifetime, I have derived inspiration from different sources for the things that I do. While growing up, my mother was my inspiration to become a teacher. After getting married, my wife became my inspiration to write instructional mathematics workbooks. In the years that...
Something that I learned when I was young was that competition was not about winning. Many times I would see how upset my peers were when they were not successful in the games that they played. Their focus was always at having the highest score in any type of contest that they pa...
Something that everyone knows about me is that I am always punctual. Thus, it is not a surprise that I expect others to be punctual too. As a mathematics teacher and coach, I was always punctual. Punctuality is something that should be expected of anyone that is a professional. ...
During my career working with members of my mathematics team, I used sports to help with bonding. On occasion, I became their basketball coach to teach them the fundamentals of basketball. Besides learning the fundamentals of the sport, I had them focus on teamwork and good sport...
