Seriously. That’s what a Singapore Master Teacher told me before starting a workshop on using manipulatives effectively in Primary 3 and Primary 4. My eyes must have bugged out of my head. Singapore’s MOE has spent millions of dollars in ensuring that *all* teachers in *all* primary grades have the necessary manipulatives to use them in the math classes. The Academy of Singapore Teachers regularly hosts training sessions like the one I attended so that teachers can learn how to use them. MOE does all that it can to remove the barriers that teachers regularly face when it comes to good teaching and learning.

Even with all those barriers removed, the facilitators implied that many teachers and schools are not using the resources: “Get these out of the closets in your classrooms,” “Don’t let anyone throw this stuff away if you don’t know what they are for,” and “Ask your HOD if you don’t see these materials around. They are there.” The theme that teachers are not employing best practices, even if they know about them, is one that I have encountered quite a bit recently. I get it. I get that there are other barriers besides not having the physical resources that keep teachers from changing or enhancing their practice. Many times, one of the bigger barriers is the teacher’s own fear of trying or learning something new. I know that I have felt that way at times. But, for the most part, I’m beyond that. I’m willing to learn anything that might make me a better teacher, even if that means making myself vulnerable, taking a risk, and admitting that I have a lot to learn, which I usually do. Sometimes it’s not fear, but real time constraints that keep teachers from learning and growing. I get that too. When we have a stack of papers 4 inches thick and we have to choose between going to a 3-hour workshop on effective teaching or knocking out those papers so we can rest on the weekend, I know which one I would choose.

While the focus of my project is not primary level mathematics, I was eager to learn more about the famous Singapore Math. I am impressed! The Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract way of learning important mathematical ideas is the way to go. I kind of wish that I had a class of my own to try them out on. I don’t think that my own Primary 3 student would always be a willing participant to my mathematical preaching. I’ll have to see if I can find another audience.