Bard, A Place to Think - Master of Arts in Teaching

Hometown:Wappingers Falls, NY
Previous Education: Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY, B.A. Mathematics
Work Experience Prior to Bard:
Participated in various mathematics programs for children in the community, including Bishop Dunn Math Club, the Math and Science Matter Fair at Dutchess Community College, and as a math tutor.
Pediatric/geriatric (practical) nurse, five years

Why did you want to become a teacher?
I want to teach mathematics to help adolescence look deeper into themselves as learners and their abilities to succeed in this subject. I have heard so many instances where students make remarks such as, “I hate math” or “I can’t do math”. There is no doubt that math can be challenging. However, the unfortunate aspect to these comments is that students ultimately begin to believe them. As a future teacher, I want to help students learn how to grapple with mathematical concepts in ways that lead them to a confidence and satisfaction in their thinking and experiences. I want to help students recognize their potential through participation in intellectual and culturally sensitive classroom work.

What are your career goals?
My immediate goals are to spend the next few years working with inner city adolescence. During this time, I am interested in building my understanding of how students learn mathematics and how culture affects learning in the classroom. Ultimately, I hope to use my understandings from both of these areas to improve the educational experiences for broadened scales of students and teachers.

Why did you choose Bard?
When I visited Bard College in early 2009, one fact was undoubtedly evident: Bard was a place where I could grow through my personal strengths and weakness. From speaking with current students and faculty, I knew that Bard would provide me with a unique opportunity to learn about myself as a teacher and how to make students a part of learning.
After spending the past five months in the program, I have not been disappointed. My prior perceptions of learning have been challenged and I have grown through the support of faculty members, interactions with students in schools, and course work.

What do you like best about Bard’s MAT?
At Bard, I am recognized as an individual. My learning experiences feel personalized.

Tell us about your student teaching experience so far.
In September, I was fortunate enough to work with an amazing group of 11th and 12th grade students in the South Bronx. They were all extremely different and unique. Throughout the experience, I was constantly amazed with the way the students were able to conceptualize mathematics through the support of my mentor teacher. There was a refined integrity in the way learning took place. The students were comfortable and willing to express their ideas. In the classroom it was clearly seen through student-teacher interactions that learning was not something to be scared of.

Is there a particular professor or course that you especially enjoyed? Why?
Each course I have taken a Bard has had a significant value to the way I view learning and the educational system. However, in Michael Sadowski’s course I learned not only about how culture affects students, but how my cultural experiences will affect me as a teacher. Reflecting on the class I feel that my childhood experiences, often being the only minority student in the class, boy issues, and family life, have invaluable in helping me understand the dynamics that students experience in their lives outside of school that they bring into the classroom with them.

Is there anything else you would like to share with prospective Bard students?
Although a lot of my time is occupied with graduate studies, I still manage to spend time with my children and tend to personal time for myself. On the weekend we ride bicycles on the local rail trail or I take some time to research some of my personal interests, such as nineteenth century furniture. It’s all about time management.