Thoughts from the classroom

I don’t think that there is a single 18 year old in existence that knows exactly what they are going to do in life, and I was certainly no exception. Our early adulthood is a time to make dumb mistakes in the process of figuring out life, after all. I had no way to know that my impulsive decision of a job choice was going to turn out to be my passion and thus my career. This is going to be a bit of a long post, but to be fair…I had a rather unique journey.

I had just graduated from high school and was still considering life choices. I didn’t really come from a well-off family and I had absolutely no way to pay for college. My dad had suggested that I join the military for both life experiences and college money, but I was strongly resisting that. My mom’s friend, Carla, suggested I get a job as a paraprofessional substitute with the same school district that my mom worked for. Why not? It paid $35 a day, which was a fortune for a teenager in the nineties. I could make my own schedule, and if I didn’t want to work that day, I would just not answer the phone.

The real advantage to this was that the Deaf Education program could call on me as a substitute when needed. I am by no means fluent in ASL, but I can communicate. There was a severe lack of people that could sign in the community, so I was perfect for the job. Soon, I was hired full time as an interpreter for a kid that is a dear friend of mine to this day. And so it began.

I stayed in this district for about two years before I decided to go ahead and join the Navy. I think it is important to my story to note here that I thought I was absolutely terrible at math and science. I had struggled through the highest classes my school had to offer, but struggled in my senior year to pull a “B” in both Physics and Calculus. I know now that I psyched myself out, which is also important later. Despite this, I was convinced to join the Navy Nuclear Power Program, which is still the hardest academic program the US Military has to offer. I graduated from this program, which squeezes the equivalent of a 4-year degree into 18 months. I was shipped off to the USS Enterprise, where I was a mechanical operator for a ship with 8 nuclear reactors. I left the military when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid disease.

After my time in the military, I got married and moved to Georgia, enrolling in the Biology program at Reinhardt University. The staff were absolutely wonderful. My advisor, Dr. Rob, was absolutely essential to my success and I can’t imagine a better advisor. But I still had to take those pesky math classes. My first try in College Algebra, I had pulled a C by the skin of my teeth. Then I met Dr. Summers. I don’t know how he did it, but he made math visual to me. I started to understand what I was doing. He gave us a take-home exam that took me ten hours to do. I was frustrated, I yelled at it, I put it aside, convinced that I was going to fail. Until I suddenly clicked. I started to realize that math is a puzzle, and I would not always get the answer immediately. I had tools in my toolbox to try, and they all worked together. I passed College Algebra with an A, went to Trigonometry with the same professor. (He was actually the only professor in the small school.) I passed with an A again. I suddenly knew I was becoming pretty darn good at Math. I took every single math class there was to offer. I graduated, promising Dr. Summers I would go get a second Bachelor’s in Math.

I moved back to Texas, working at Porter High School as a special education aide while I worked on my teacher certification. As there were no jobs available at that district, I moved onto Aldine ISD, teaching Algebra I and II, Geometry, Math Models, and IPC. After a while there, I realized it was time to make good on that promise to Dr. Summers. I wanted to know more about the math I was teaching, and I think I needed to prove to myself that I was actually good at it. So I took a break from teaching and enrolled in Sam Houston State. This was one of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I finish that degree, but also minored in German language and gained some proficiency in what was my grandfather’s native language. I also got the opportunity to study at the University of Leipzig in Germany, a once in a lifetime experience. While I was studying at SHSU, I also tutored German language, had research published in the college journal, and worked with a political science professor translating WWII documents from German to English.

After graduation, I tried to start a Master’s degree, but the rheumatoid disease that I had been fighting since I left the Navy temporarily caught up with me, and I was forced to leave until I regained my health. After working with elementary kids teaching reading and basic math skills for a year, I began working for Cleveland ISD in Algebra I, and later IPC. While working for Cleveland, I went back to school remotely and completed my Master’s degree, with a capstone project that computed various polynomials related to twisted torus knots in knot theory. I was always fascinated with the subject, and absolutely had a blast with this research. I have always loved pure research, and I regret the fact that I’m not going to be able to carry on with knot theory research.

I know this story was long, but please allow me to point out a few important parts. I want to first address this misconception that we are either good at math, or not. I absolutely am not a math genius. I am good at math because I worked at it and struggled with it. Natural talent does exist, but being determined enough to work at it can take you just as far. So as a teacher, I know the struggles and the hang-ups that the students will have, and how to conquer those challenges. This puts me in a unique situation to help my kids. I was not naturally good at math…then I struggled long and hard with it and became good at math. It can be done.

Second, my international experience has left me able to communicate in two other languages. I won’t claim to be fluent in either, and it as been years since I spoke German or more than a short conversation in ASL. (Spanish is my next project.) However, having had to learn both ASL and German by immersion gave me the knowledge to help our language learners. I know the struggle to communicate and also strategies to teach language, since it is the same strategies I used to learn another language.

Finally, while it looks like I skipped around in the course of my career, in reality I spent my time gaining a variety of unique skills and experiences. We always say as educators that we want our students to be life-long learners. We want to instill a love of learning in our kids. I think that by taking the route I have, I am an example of that love of learning. I have done exactly what I would encourage my students to do: find a passion, learn about it, and run with it. Those interests do not have to be related to each other, either. I want to instill an enquiring mind into my students. In the course of my life, I have either tutored or taught students ranging from 5 years old to college age adults. I have taught primarily math, but have either taught or tutored science, reading, writing, art, and beginning German. I have done pure research and had work published. This allows me to bring a world of experience to the table as a teacher.