Q: What is your favorite part about teaching?

A: My favorite part about teaching is getting the chance to interact with new people and support them academically as they navigate through their classwork. (The Summer’s off are a close second as well!)

Q: What’s something that has been a struggle?

A: Something that feels like a struggle would be keeping up with absent test/quiz grades while also working through current and new quiz grades, especially when the six weeks are wrapping up!

Q: What has kept you teaching, especially at Vandegrift?

A: I think what has kept me teaching has been the feeling of stability in my work-life, and the positive interactions that I have with students year over year. When comparing Vandegrift to other high schools, it really is a step-down to move into almost any other high school because of how supportive Vandegrift is of the staff and students.

Q: Why did you choose to teach math?

A: I actually have a degree in Physics, but I chose math because I thought it would be an easy start to teaching since high-school level math is pretty much the same year over year.

Q: Is there anything that you have learned, like any life lessons, or anything really, from teaching?

A: There is a saying I heard as a substitute teacher that I still think about today. As a teacher, having a mentality of “Walking in on a cloud, and walking out on a cloud” means coming to work with a  good mindset and leaving with a good mind-set. Also “class is as much fun as you make it” is also a phrase I like because the teacher has a lot of options for changing activities/lessons when they feel the need.

Q: Is there anything you hope your students take away from your class? 

A: What I hope students take away from class is the idea that high-school level math is something anybody can do. The point of math class is not to memorize everything about the math content, but to familiarize yourself with trying different strategies and learning that mistakes are a valid and important way of learning anything you do.