Hello my fellow classmates and the world beyond. My name is Eric Arthur and I am studying Mathematics education with a coaching and physical education minor. I also have plans to get into educational administration somewhere down the road of life but for now I am satisfied to teach and coach. You’d think that after an entire first week of classes I would have this introduction thing down. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment but I’ll do my best.
A brief background of myself would probably be the best place to start. I was born in Salt Lake City, UT and claim West Jordan, UT as my home town after living there throughout my entire childhood. I was also born on the 4th of July so for all those who didn’t know the fireworks are actually for me and not for any other reasons you might have been given. I have attended the University of Utah and Utah State during my college years. I transferred up here two years ago after getting married in the summer of 2009. While it’s taken some adjusting, I’m glad I came up here because it prompted my change of majors into the education field. I still have a few semesters left and plan on graduating Dec. 2012.
Growing up I always considered myself an intelligent jock. I think I have almost a split personality disorder of some sort because I couldn’t be more different in these two areas of life. I am pretty quiet and reserved when it comes to my academic life (although I have been known to passionately debate on topics I feel strongly about) and the complete opposite in any type of sporting event. I become super competitive, aggressive and command much more respect and attention while playing. My passion is and always will be for soccer but I also play/enjoy basketball, ultimate Frisbee, and distance running. In fact I’ve taken very well to running and have run many races including two marathons.
My other passion in life is mathematics and teaching. I love seeing those light bulb moments on student’s faces when something just clicks and becomes perfectly clear to them. There’s nothing better to me as a teacher than knowing that a student has left my classroom with a better understanding than they entered with. I consider myself a very logical person and I think that is why I’m so drawn to math. While there are many ways at arriving at an answer, every path must follow a logical progression of ideas in order for it to be valid. Navigating that path to its logical conclusion, especially when there are obstacles to overcome, is extremely satisfying to me.
I can’t really identify one major event in my life that set me on the path to a teaching career. I’ve had my fair share of influential teachers, only one of which actually taught math, but I can’t say that I have one that pushed me here. I’ve worked a lot with underprivileged youth as a tutor and mentor and I’ve seen firsthand how desperately good teachers are needed in the world today. I’ve also seen the influence a good teacher can have on troubled students and I hope to have at least one of those experiences in my life. I’m not delusional enough to think that I’ll change every student in my class but nothing is worth doing if you don’t shoot for the moon with it. I look forward to this semester and class because I hope to expand my understanding of what it takes for a student to really learn in any given content area. Then, with any luck, I'll be able to turn that knowledge to good use and be a better teacher for it. Here's to a great semester!
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