The document contains short quotes from various teachers on the important aspects of teaching mathematics. Many of the teachers emphasize making mathematics relevant to students' lives, allowing students to explore and solve problems in their own way, and helping students see that they are doing math all around them in daily activities. Several also stress the importance of getting to know students as individuals.

1. The important thing about mathematics is that
you explore. There are right and wrong answers
but what is important is how you get there and
understanding how you got there. We should all
explore the possibilities of math.
- Andrew Bransford

2. The important thing about teaching mathematics is
letting kids know they are participating in math the
minute they open their eyes in the morning. It is
clocks and sports and food and cooking… Math is
exploring and estimating and generalizing and
analyzing and asking. It is natural to do these things
and then we think about them and discuss them
and learn from what other kids have to say. But the
important thing about teaching math is letting kids
know that they are doing math as soon as they
open their eyes in the morning.
- Doreen Broderick

3. The important thing about teaching
mathematics is to have a core idea, encourage
investigation of it, and return to the core idea.
This pattern of teaching math is like
investigating a spoon – exploring all its qualities
and returning to what’s essential about it – it is
something that you use. This is math. This is
how we explore it. This is how we use it.
- Marion Gilliam

4. The important thing about teaching
mathematics is to have students think about
math and to be able to explain their thinking to
their partner, their class, and their teacher.
- Mary Gay Heagler

5. The most important thing to me about teaching
math is allowing and letting students solve
things on their own with a given amount of
information. The ways we solve things are/may
be different, but the thought of one beginning
to become a better problem solver is something
the world really needs more of!
- Kristian Kuhn

6. The important thing about teaching
mathematics is that it is playful and fun.
- Adrianne LeMay

7. The important thing about teaching math is to
let students participate.
- Leigh McKolay

8. The most important thing about teaching math
is that you take time to know and value your
students. A lot of bridges can be made when a
teacher takes the time to invest in the
lives/interests of his/her students.
- Jennifer Meyers

9. The most important thing about teaching
mathematics is making it relevant to students’
lives.
- Amanda Mudge

10. The most important thing about teaching
mathematics is giving opportunities for
developing strategies and discovering useful
tools. This provides a means to solve problems.
Get thinking!
- Ara Nelson

11. The most important thing about teaching
mathematics is helping students feel like they
can use math to solve real world problems.
- Renée Oakes

12. The important thing about teaching math is
having flexibility in my teaching style and
attitude. Flexibility allows students to discover
and respond to math in an investigative way…
sometimes not the “right” way but the
“learning” way. My style needs to be flexible as
teaching provides us with many different
learning styles and students from many different
backgrounds.
- Lachelle Ogden

13. The important thing about teaching
mathematics is that math is all around us. We
need to make multiple connections with our
lessons to the world around us.
- Jeff Risher

14. The important thing about teaching math is
knowing your students’ strengths and
weaknesses.
- OlesyaToloknova

15. The important thing about teaching math is
recognizing the try! Students may not always get
to the correct answer, but it is important to
recognize their attempt, notice what they did
and acknowledge it before helping them to the
right direction.
- Maureen Tromley

16. The important thing about teaching
mathematics is that you place value on
individual growth and understanding.
- Devin Witter

17. The most important thing about teaching math
is that I value students’ understanding and
mind, what they come to see in math on their
own and its problems. I think most other things
in teaching math are rooted in this practice.
- LalehnazZahedi