Miss Karen I like Maths now!

It's comments like this that just make your day. This came from a little girl in my class who really finds mathematics difficult. She spent the first 5 years of her life in an orphanage, and while I'm sure she was provided with the physical things she needed there is so much that she missed out on. Simple things like counting games in the car on family trips, like helping mummy count the cans of soup to buy in the weekly grocery shop, like playing counting games with big brothers and sisters. Mathematics is all around us in the world, but children in orphanages tend to miss out on much of this. This little girl is fortunate. She was adopted by loving parents who are doing their best, not only to provide her with her current needs, but also to help her make up for some of the things she has missed. I love mathematics, and having my students enjoy it is just one of the many pleasures of being a teacher. It's not always easy to do this, especially when students have not seen successes in the past, but it is worth every minute of preparation that it takes to help the struggling students and at the same time extend the more capable ones. I love this job!