Employment

I recently took up a job as a trigonometric mathematics tutor teaching a grade 11 student on a one-on-one basis.  Specifically I began to teach him about trigonometric ratios.  I have been teaching him now for the past three days.

In that brief period of those three days, we had to finish 4 topics of this unit; trigonometric ratios of acute angles, trigonometric ratios of special angles, exploring trigonometric ratios for angles greater than 90 and evaluating trigonometric ratios for any angle between 0 and 360.

What I realized was that my student found it difficult to remember the trigonometric ratios for angles such as 45, 60 and 30. I thought that by drawing pictures and diagrams it could help him to learn it and understand it in an easier way.

So, I asked him to draw an Isosceles Right Angled Triangle and an Equilateral Triangle and then substituted '1' to one side of the triangle.  Obviously, he could use the primary trigonometric ratios (SOH, CAH, and TOA - SOHCAHTOA. A way of remembering how to compute the sine, cosine, and tangent of an angle. SOH stands for Sine equals Opposite over Hypotenuse. CAH stands for Cosine equals Adjacent over Hypotenuse. TOA stands for Tangent equals Opposite over Adjacent.) to calculate the special angles' trigonometric ratios fast with the help of a diagram. I was so happy when he became more confident in trigonometric functions when he understood the concept.

During our class, we not only talked about maths, but also talked about our dreams and our lives. We became friends. To me, as a teacher, I'm glad to help young people to make their dreams come true. Teachers open the door ... you enter by yourself. Confucius.  And my dream is to become a good teacher.