It was during my first year teaching that I finally realized what a2 + b2 = c2 really meant. The teacher next to me had his class complete a Pythagorean Theorem activity and decorated the halls with his students' finished work. It was looking at all of those projects that finally drove home to me what the theorem actually meant. It was a cool realization. It was this same teacher who made me realize the value of math word walls and displaying student work.