. . . the CBEST exam - at least according to my unofficial test scores emailed to me just today. I was rather concerned that my "scaled scores" indicated that I had barely passed by the skin of my teeth in the reading section. I HAD to check the CBEST website to figure out if that indeed was the case. Well, after translating my three scores (reading, math, and writing) to percentage marks, I'm confused. I'm supposed to be working towards a math credential so that I can teach high school math. My scores are all over the place. My scores? A 76% in reading, an 86% in math and a 94% in writing. I suppose I can crank out an essay (or three*) but I can't read very well. And math?!?! . . . I'll be lucky if I qualify to teach elementary math. There was no calculus (or even linear algebra or geometry) so if that's the best I can do with very simple basic math, I think I have my work cut out for me.
Air Boss keeps asking me, "Are you sure you want to teach math?" This question combined with my adamant response that "a third of a third is a sixth" has proven to Air Boss that math is NOT my strongest subject. Oh dear. Did I tell you that I never even took college level math? I did take calculus freshman year but ended up dropping the class because I couldn't stay awake for the 8 AM class. I even woke up in class one day and found myself sitting with a completely different set of students - I had slept through the class exchange! Definitely not math teacher material.
I think I have some re-evaluating to do. In the meantime, in studying for the CBEST, I have figured out that a third of a third is two-thirds. Right?
* The CBEST writing section requires two written essays. I ended up writing THREE essays (yeah, right - one for extra credit) because my second essay had totally deviated from answering the question at hand. I erased 45 minutes of writing and started from scratch. I guess it was worth the mound of eraser dust, the four dull #2 pencils, and the cramped hand to rewrite it.
4 comments:
WOOOOHOOO! CONGRATULATIONS! THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT YOU WOULD PASS WITH FLYING COLORS. AND I COULD NEVER TEACH MATH...3RD GRADE MATH IS SOMETIMES WAY ABOVE MY TEACHING LEVEL. BUT MATH TEACHERS ARE NEEDED!
thanks for the congrats! not sure "flying colors" is the way I passed but I'll take a "pass" regardless! Thanks for having faith in me Stace!
You are sooooo cracking me up!!! :)Congratulations - but I am STILL laughing about the whole math subject - are you SURE you want to teach math??? If so, try it on me when you come to the East Coast this summer - I've even lost the basics of maths, it's embarrassing... :)
Hi Dee,
Just found your blog through Stacey's blog...
As a high school math teacher who can't do arithmetic and only took up through Calculus (until more recently when I decided to get my masters in math so therefore had to take some college math to catch up with the others!)...I would like to encourage you to perhaps stick with the dream.
Teaching is not the easiest job in the world, but it IS very rewarding and very much a place where God can use you. If you have even an inkling of a desire to be there, then I encourage you to not give up on that until you actually try it. (And even then, I'd give it 5 years before you give up...)
Even the most brilliant mathematicians have to go through a "relearning" of the math when they actually go to teach it...so no need to fret about the math just yet.
And there just might be some people who could help you on that end...
:-)
-Erika
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