A Mathematician and a Writer?

I do not view myself as writer. When I think of writing I think of essays, short stories, and poetry. I cannot remember the last time I wrote a paper in response to anything other than a short response on a test.  I will write a poem occasionally to express a thought or emotion, but emphasis on the word occasionally. That will happen maybe twice a year. Most often I express my ideas in person through word of mouth. I prefer expression through facial expressions, body language and verbal words and sounds.  

As a child I actually grew up wanting to be an author one day. I loved writing assignments, and always went above and beyond the requirements. However, once entering into college, writing became a task instead of recreation and once I chose to become a math major my opportunities to write dwindled. I remember one assignment in third grade we had to write a paragraph on wolves. I ended up writing a 14 page story of a wolf and his friend. My teacher gave me an A, and advised me to keep it shorter next time. From there on out I took as many creative writing classes as were offered. I loved to write stories and poetry in my free time, and still have multiple notebooks with unfinished stories. I was your classic daydreamer and could spend hours developing and writing a story.  I loved the adventure writing a story took me on. It was so much better than a movie. My recreational writing now is limited to texting friends and family, and keeping a journal. Apart from the occasionally math proof, I have not had very many opportunities to write while studying math and stats.

In school before college I loved to write creative essays and stories. One particular project I remember was a poetry portfolio. The teacher’s only requirements were in length and style of poetry, but as for topics that was all up to us. I loved the freedom of creativity and thoroughly enjoyed expressing my ideas in the structure and fluid form of a poem. But as with all school experiences, there were writing assignments I did not enjoy as well. I always struggled with writing assignments that were so structured and specific that it took the creativity out of it. I thought it boring when my written responses were expected to be uniformed and organized instead of including unique voice.

As a teacher, even as a math teacher, I want to give my students opportunities to express themselves through writing. Structure is needed, but so is the chance to be creative. I want to give students topics that they feel are applicable to them. For example, a writing prompt I could give students when teaching negative numbers is: ‘What are your hobbies? Choose one of your favorite hobbies, and write two paragraphs on how negative numbers are used in this hobby. For example, if you like football, the number of yards a player has to go can be expressed in terms of negative numbers. Explain why you think negative numbers are important in today’s society. If you think they are not, explain your reasoning.’ I want my students to not have to view writing as a task. I want to find ways to make writing enjoyable.