Who We Are

In the past few weeks I have thought a lot about my job. It's true that I love it. Everyday, I love it. I am eager to get to work, eager to see my students, eager to see what they have learned and eager to plan for what's next. How did I get to this place? There are many reasons including the people who influenced me in my life, the teachers I have had, and the inherent creativity that is part of teaching.

My parents are my biggest supporters. They influenced me in ways I will never clearly understand. Most of what they have done is live in a way that is a model for all of us. Being kind and helping others in a humble quiet way is what they do. They don't look for thanks. They don't do any of it for recognition. They do it because they can. They help others because they believe that is what humans are asked to do. It is our obligation to help people who are less fortunate. When I was recognized for teaching it was extremely surprising and wonderful and my parents were very proud. It has been something that I will always remember, but it is not something I was looking for. It doesn't make me love my work any more than I already do. It just raises up the work of education so that maybe others can see its beauty and power and find ways to support our work in schools.

There are many teachers that influenced me in my work. While I cannot describe or remember any of the academic content they taught me, I can remember the way they cared about me and my classmates. Mr. Ario taught us about our responsibilities as US citizens and our obligations in the world and in our neighborhoods. He taught us about kindness and love. Mr. Austrums quietly patiently taught us algebra. He told us about his hopes for us and he loved each of us. He was quiet and gentle in the way he taught and he was joyful in his praise of our learning. These teachers taught me how to live. I love teaching because I love learning. This love of learning came from my experiences in school. I had teachers who helped me discover the power and wonder of learning.

Every day I get to learn something and I get to create an experience for my students in which they will learn something about math (or life, hopefully). Having to use my creativity has been a an unexpected gift. I have learned how think in ways that expand my mind. It's hard to describe this process of crafting a lesson that is engaging and fun and effective. It's challenging and daunting at times. And it is wildly satisfying too.

I work with so many teachers who believe in this work. I look forward to learning more from them.

Create. It will change your life.

Teaching Is Love

When I first started teaching middle school it was awful. I was awful. I drove home many days crying my eyes out and dreading the next day. It was a tough crowd. I was teaching 8th grade math to students who were struggling in their regular math class so they had to take a second math class. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Who wants to even take one math class let alone two? And for kids who are struggling in math, taking another math class feels like punishment. However, in June, when the year was over, I was eager to give it another try. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. What changed? I started to love them. I started to see them as the beautiful people they were rather than the difficult-to-manage-in-your-face students everyone complained about.

Every year a few students get under my skin. All my usual tricks don't work and I go home wondering what to do. How will I reach her? How will I help him be successful when he won't stop swearing long enough to hear the assignment? I decide to love them. I decide that my job, more than teaching fractions, and slope, and line of best fit, is to love them.

I didn't figure this out myself. Most of what I do is stolen from other teachers I have had the privilege to know. My high school philosophy teacher taught me what it means to be human. My middle school math teacher taught me about kindness. My son's English teacher taught me about how unimportant grades are and how incredibly important love is.

Everyday I learn something from my colleagues, my students, my children, my parents, and my friends. Learning is what I do. Learning is what I love.