French Middle School eighth
grade math and algebra teacher Stephanie Karrer is in her eighth year of
teaching for Topeka Public Schools. This past summer Karrer was named a Kansas
finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science
Teaching, the highest honor in the nation for math and science educators.
“I really enjoy teaching
and it’s a lot of fun. Teaching can be one the most rewarding jobs, like
parenting, it’s hard work and stressful at times. You are making a difference
for kids even if they don’t see it right away. It’s neat to hear that former
students went down a math field as a career. And it’s great when a high school
student comes to you when they need help with their math work, you know that
they trust you.”
“It seems that a lot of
students come in with lots of baggage when it comes to math, they don’t like it
or they think they aren’t good at it. I tell all of my students that we start
where they are right now and your brain is only truly learning by making lots
of mistakes. There are relatively new research
findings which state the brain grows when mistakes are being made. This
research is behind the push about the importance for a growth mindset,
especially in math. Having a growth mindset gives students an ‘I Can’ attitude
towards math rather than ‘I Can't.’ The growth mindset gives students and
teachers the ability to focus on the learning, the why and/or the how versus
the normal right or wrong approach. Growth mindset classrooms allow for
safety and risk taking where math is concerned. Often times students have
a sense of feeling they are either good or bad at math, but when classrooms are
growth focused students begin to see everyone is good at math-- we just master
concepts in our own time.”
“In my
classroom, I use the word YET. When I hear students say ‘I don't get
this’ or ‘I can't do this’ or ‘I'm not good at this,’ I coach my students to
add YET to the end of their statements. 'I don't get this... YET,’ it
seems to empower students to persevere and allows students to feel more
successful.”
“Looking back, the only
profession of interest to me was teaching. I can remember playing ‘school’ with
my friends and cousins—I was always the teacher. In third grade, I recall
struggling with delayed grief from the loss of my mother. My third grade
teacher, Mrs. Morris was amazing. I don’t remember everything she did or
said; however, I know I always felt safe, cared for, listened to, important and
loved. Not only did Mrs. Morris teach me reading, writing and math, she also displayed
strength, independence and how to care for others. Once I had settled on
teaching as a career, I gravitated towards becoming a mathematics teacher
because math was always my favorite subject in school.”
