Question 1: I care about what each kid is planning to do with what I teach. Consider the two cliched groups: college and non-college bound.

For the college bound student, I try to serve the needs of there major. If I have a student who plans to be a doctor, I pull questions from biology. If I have students who will major in business, I pull questions from mathematical finance.

For the non-college bound, I do essentially the same thing. If a kid plans to sell cars, we compute interest, tax, commission, etc. Depending on the kid, we may even write a simple computer program to keep track of these things.

In short, what is most important is that they understand that real mathematics exists in their future, and that the particular topic of the curriculum I am teaching at the time is connected to that mathematics in some way.

Question 2: I like the current general curriculum of Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus, Calculus. However, I believe that a Statistics/Combinatorics/Probability and/or a linear algebra/set theory class should be offered along with or in place of Calculus. This would better serve student needs.

Question 3: When society places the same importance on understanding mathematics as it does on reading.

Question 4: I believe teacher preparation is one of the biggest flaws in todays math education. Too many teachers leave college with very little real mathematics because "they will never have to teach it anyway." Because of this lack of mathematical knowledge, the structure and power of the subject is lost and these "teachers" end up espousing a set of disconnected facts. Students are turned off by this.

I believe that all high school math teachers should be required to have math degrees with their education work done separately. The methods class should be expanded to several semesters where the professor teaches and aids the potential teachers in applying the ideas learned in their undergraduate math classes to the teaching of high school students.

Question 5: I have a natural love and talent for mathematics. I have a natural talent for teaching. I have been doing both in one form or another since I was a sophomore in high school.

I have watched all my teachers for as long as I can remember. Part of my learning process during that time has been to play a game of, "How can I explain that in a better, more exciting way?" Because I could offer alternative explanations to my peers, my teachers in high school often said I would make a great teacher. I hope to fulfill this expectation.

Question 6: a) I expect higher ed to speak with one voice. One of my biggest frustrations as a teacher of college bound students is that I have no basis to judge what pedagogical challenges my students will face once they enter college. The best example of this is technology.

If I send a kid to Texas A&M, they will be expected to learn Maple along with the standard Calculus. They will also be expected to be adept at the use of a graphing calculator. On the other hand, if I send a kid to Rice University, the calculator is all but banded from their possession in most cases. In many cases, different professors at the same institution have varying tolerances for technology. How am I to prep a college bound student who could go to a traditional calculus, a reform calculus or some other variation? Higher Ed needs to set some basic guidelines.

b) I expect teachers coming from college to have a better command of mathematics than myself. I expect them to be able to communicate it effectively, and I expect colleges to raise their expectations for teachers in general.

I expect new teachers to be up to date on the latest teaching and assessment strategies, and be well versed in the use of different forms of media and technology for communicating mathematics.