Today is Ada Lovelace Day and for today's post I am to write about a woman, specifically one involved in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), who inspired me to become who I am today.
I originally thought I'd have a problem writing anything because I can't really say "this person is why I am who I am" about anybody, male or female. Nobody did some cool math or physics that made me say "that's gonna be me." I didn't plan to become a teacher until 3 am one morning when I realized that the PhD thing wasn't going to work for me after all, and the only thing I really liked about it was the teaching. That it is exactly what I should be doing was a happy accident.
So I thought I wouldn't know who to write about today; but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there were three women who did influence me rather strongly. And since internet magic allows me to schedule for today what I am actually writing on October 5, Teacher Appreciation Day, it is doubly appropriate to celebrate these teachers.
The first was my grade 3 teacher, whose name has been lost to the mists of time. My only math-related memory from that year is reading my first-term report card. It said something along the lines of "PhysicsGirl has difficulty with word problems." That was the moment I made a conscious decision to be 'good at math' so my reports wouldn't say stuff like that again. And they never did.
See what a careless little comment can do? It can turn someone into a mathematician! Or worse: a math teacher!
The next influence was my grade 7 math and homeroom teacher. I can't remember her name either, but I do remember that grade 7 was hell on Earth for me and math class was a little corner of peace. Madame let me work ahead of the rest of the class because I was bored and unhappy and encouraged other students to ask me for help. It was the only class where some of the other students treated me like a human being that year. It was around this time that math became my "thing." Math, and earrings.
The third influence was my Calculus teacher, and I do remember her name: Mrs. Pyke. She's still teaching in my board, and if I run into her, I could call her Sue (since that is her name) but I don't know if I'd be able to. Having survived a host of generally awful math teachers, including the grade 11 teacher who disappeared halfway through first term, I consider her my first real high school math teacher. She was also the only teacher who got me to do my math homework on a regular basis, if only through the threat of embarrassment -- she would randomly ask students to put homework questions on the board, and the first time my name went up I took my textbook with me because, of course, I hadn't actually done my homework. Mrs. Pyke said "Next time, PhysicsGirl, bring your notes, not the textbook." Didn't want to get caught again, so I did my homework. And I did really well as a result.
When I applied for Teacher's College, I wrote that she was an inspiration for how I wanted to teach. She did crazy stuff, like group assignments! In math class! And when I had to miss a bunch of classes, she didn't just assume I would learn the material on my own. She made me make an appointment with her at lunch and gave me a tutorial, Socratic questioning and all. I really got the sense that she cared about whether her students understood the material.
A friend of mine had her as an associate during our year at OISE, and I asked him to thank her for me. She didn't remember me of course. That's okay. I remember her, and the others. While I am the sum of all my experiences, these three women had a positive effect on the direction of my academic life, and for that I am profoundly grateful.
Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
I originally thought I'd have a problem writing anything because I can't really say "this person is why I am who I am" about anybody, male or female. Nobody did some cool math or physics that made me say "that's gonna be me." I didn't plan to become a teacher until 3 am one morning when I realized that the PhD thing wasn't going to work for me after all, and the only thing I really liked about it was the teaching. That it is exactly what I should be doing was a happy accident.
So I thought I wouldn't know who to write about today; but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there were three women who did influence me rather strongly. And since internet magic allows me to schedule for today what I am actually writing on October 5, Teacher Appreciation Day, it is doubly appropriate to celebrate these teachers.
The first was my grade 3 teacher, whose name has been lost to the mists of time. My only math-related memory from that year is reading my first-term report card. It said something along the lines of "PhysicsGirl has difficulty with word problems." That was the moment I made a conscious decision to be 'good at math' so my reports wouldn't say stuff like that again. And they never did.
See what a careless little comment can do? It can turn someone into a mathematician! Or worse: a math teacher!
The next influence was my grade 7 math and homeroom teacher. I can't remember her name either, but I do remember that grade 7 was hell on Earth for me and math class was a little corner of peace. Madame let me work ahead of the rest of the class because I was bored and unhappy and encouraged other students to ask me for help. It was the only class where some of the other students treated me like a human being that year. It was around this time that math became my "thing." Math, and earrings.
The third influence was my Calculus teacher, and I do remember her name: Mrs. Pyke. She's still teaching in my board, and if I run into her, I could call her Sue (since that is her name) but I don't know if I'd be able to. Having survived a host of generally awful math teachers, including the grade 11 teacher who disappeared halfway through first term, I consider her my first real high school math teacher. She was also the only teacher who got me to do my math homework on a regular basis, if only through the threat of embarrassment -- she would randomly ask students to put homework questions on the board, and the first time my name went up I took my textbook with me because, of course, I hadn't actually done my homework. Mrs. Pyke said "Next time, PhysicsGirl, bring your notes, not the textbook." Didn't want to get caught again, so I did my homework. And I did really well as a result.
When I applied for Teacher's College, I wrote that she was an inspiration for how I wanted to teach. She did crazy stuff, like group assignments! In math class! And when I had to miss a bunch of classes, she didn't just assume I would learn the material on my own. She made me make an appointment with her at lunch and gave me a tutorial, Socratic questioning and all. I really got the sense that she cared about whether her students understood the material.
A friend of mine had her as an associate during our year at OISE, and I asked him to thank her for me. She didn't remember me of course. That's okay. I remember her, and the others. While I am the sum of all my experiences, these three women had a positive effect on the direction of my academic life, and for that I am profoundly grateful.
In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years. -- Jacques Barzun
Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
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