Why I decided I wanted to become a Maths Scholar

There was so much to gain becoming a Maths Scholar and in my opinion, absolutely nothing to lose. Despite this, there were a few key reasons that I decided to apply in the first place and I will briefly talk about the largest contributing factors to my decision below.

1) Access to the CPD events that are run by specialists in Maths education

Firstly, I would say that the access to the continuing professional development events that are arranged was a big lure to applying to the scholarship. I was fortunate enough to attend the ‘Using Art to Teach Maths’ webinar with Clarissa Grandi at the end of October. As someone who is self- professed not very artistic, it was wonderful to step outside of my comfort zone and learn about how art could be incorporated into a Maths lesson. I intend to attend as many of the CPD events as possible so that I can continue to learn, develop new skills and become an all-round better teacher for my students.

2) Access to a community of like-minded individuals

I am a firm believer in the saying ‘you are the average of the five people that you spend the most amount of time with’ and so as a result, I wanted to expose myself to an environment of like-minded individuals who are all striving to reach the same goals - becoming the best possible teacher they can be. This community provides a multitude of things: other trainees to talk to about different lesson ideas, support network when things get tough and the very best of the current cohort to push me to become the best that I can be.

3) Recognition of others

Finally, and I would say maybe the most important for me personally, is the recognition of others and that they too agree that I can become a great maths teacher. I think this is more important because of the fact that I am a career changer. I’ve never really known what I wanted to do as a career and fell into working in finance when I left university. It was only after tutoring Maths online after the COVID pandemic hit, that I found a passion for teaching. Therefore, as someone who has always been uncertain about his professional future, the support and recognition of those who accepted me to the scholarship has given me the confidence boost to pursue this career wholeheartedly.

By Brad Moneypenny

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