Influencing - To Be or Not To Be by Jenniffer

Influencing - To Be or Not To Be by Jenniffer - June 2021 Scholarship Essay

When I was in Kindergarten, I struggled with math. I remember getting frustrated during class and then getting pulled over to the corner while all the other kids were doing something else and working on math with the teacher or teachers aid. From that point on I knew it would be a consistent struggle for me to achieve mastery goals in math. At the time, I didn’t know how hard it was going to be, but it was going to be very hard by the end of my educational career.

I have grown up in the same district that I now teach high school math. I went to the local middle and high school, I even attended the community college that is in the center of our district and the university branch that settled here in 2008. I have seen many math teachers as a student and many more as a teacher over the past thirteen years. They all come and go, some stay, but they are never as great as the one who taught me College Algebra that I had to take for a second semester, because I didn’t pass the final the previous semester.

This teacher was also a teacher at the high school I attended, but she was never my teacher. I saw her in the halls, I heard good things about her, but I was never able to take her Algebra II class during my high school years. After graduating, I went to the local college and took all my basics, even College Algebra. I got a “B” in the class, but did not pass the comprehensive final at the end of the semester, so I had to take it again the next semester. The day I walked into class, there she stood, dressed just like I remember from high school. She had the most contagious smile and looked like a mix of a mom and a teacher. I quickly ran up to introduce myself and tell her how badly I wish I had had her in high school.

As she began class, I already felt lost, I couldn’t even remember what I had learned in the previous semester course. I struggled that week. The following week, I requested a meeting with the teacher and I told her how I have struggled in math for many years, and how I wanted to be able to understand, comprehend, and remember the sequences. I then began to shed a tear, because I just wanted to be successful. This mom-like teacher then took my hand and told me it would be okay, and she would take it upon herself to make sure I understood the material.

For the next sixteen weeks I would go to class and take notes and work our examples and ask a bunch of questions. Then after class I would go back to her office and she would explain the concepts in terms I actually understood. She taught me about patterns in math and how if you can memorize the basic patterns, the hard stuff becomes easier. We would work on my assignments together and she would go over other examples that she made up - I still don’t know how she did that. We would study for quizzes and tests together and she made me feel successful and like I could achieve my goals. By the end of semester I had an “A” in her class and went to take the comprehensive final. Guess what…. I passed with a 93%. I had earned my two year degree all from the help of this wonderful teacher who took time to guide me through something no one else ever took the time to do. To this day I don’t think she knows how much of an influence she really had over me. Because of her kindness and knowledge, I have been teaching high school students math for the past thirteen years. I hope I have made my students feel as good about themselves as she made me feel.