 |
|
What she does:
- Celeste teaches mathematics classes to 8th and 9th grade students in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She is beginning her 3rd year of teaching and is currently responsible for coursework in Algebra 1, Advanced Algebra 1, and Advanced Algebra 2. Due to teaching some of the school’s more advanced mathematics students, Celeste believes that her undergraduate degree in mathematics prepared her for questions from students in subjects ranging from Pre-Algebra through Advanced Placement Calculus. She feels that it is important that educators “must be able to communicate difficult or abstract math ideas in an interesting and concrete way.” She also says that her job “requires fairness, openness, approachability and organization.
Math on the job:
- Celeste uses mathematics daily in her work as a junior high teacher. She feels that it is important to not only teach the concepts but to also show them how the concept relates to the real world. She has used many interesting projects in her classroom including teaching her young students to collect data, to display the data in charts and graphs using Excel, and to use the data to predict other statistical information. The students researched many ideas including student allowances, heights, and number of siblings. Another project required students to learn how to solve inequalities and to use this information to find delicious cookies with a specific caloric content based on the number of chocolate chips in the cookies. Outside of the classroom, she uses mathematics in the daily grading of students’ work and the calculation of grades. She says that “it is important to understand what grades represent. A teacher must be careful to avoid grade inflation….”
Celeste's background:
- Celeste has a B.S. in Mathematics (2003) and a B.A. in Radio/TV/Film (2003) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She also has a M.A. in Teaching (2004) from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She did not originally plan to become a teacher; and therefore did not major in education as an undergraduate student. In order to become a teacher, she obtained her licensure in a non-traditional manner by participating in the M.A.T. program at Monticello.
Advice for students:
- “My advice for students considering mathematics is to discover what you love about math and find a career that will allow you to pursue that love. I have always enjoyed mathematics, but I never considered a career in mathematics. I was looking forward to using my Radio/TV/Film degree. My mathematics degree was a safe, back-up plan. However, I discovered that I could use both degrees as a teacher. I combine my communication skills, mathematical skills, and love of children to create a classroom where students learn to love and excel in math, regardless of past experiences.”