Model Teachers:
Middle School Math

Content: Math 7 and Transition to Algebra
School: Dozier Middle
Years Taught: 6

What do you most love about teaching?
I love making relationships with kids in the classroom and getting students that never believed they were capable of success to become successful students. I’ve always thought the biggest job of a teacher, after building relationships, is to help students gain the confidence necessary to overcome obstacles. I’m honest with the kids. I tell them that while they may never need the Pythagorean Theorem or the ability to graph a function in the real world, they will absolutely need to learn the skill of overcoming a challenge and learning something new to become successful in life.

What makes NNPS a great school division?
NNPS has a diverse group of students, educators, and leadership. The friendships and relationships I have cultivated with the staff members and students are ones that I will value for longer than my time as a teacher. I feel like I have a voice within the math department, and the Math Instructional Support Team (MIST) has included me in conversations about pacing, assessment making, strategies, and data.

What two words best describe you as a teacher?  Why?
Passionate and challenging! I have a much stronger passion for reaching children and teaching them as opposed to being passionate about “math topics.” I think a characteristic of a great educator is passion. My passion drives me to ensure students believe in themselves.  Hopefully when the students see my passion for them and belief in them, they are able to believe in themselves a little more because I believe an obstacle to students’ math success is self-confidence as opposed to content knowledge. 

I would also use the word challenging to describe myself because I challenge my students. I challenge them on basic levels to follow the procedures and structure of the classroom. I also challenge them with math questions of which they don’t think they are capable. Our classroom is rarely a place where you can feel complacent or content with what you have done. That goes for the students and the teacher.