By Greg Ford
Staff Writer
Angie Mitchell remembers being a math-hating student. Then one day, her whole outlook changed.
“It was high school algebra. It was a teacher who took that step-by-step process that I needed,” Mitchell said. “It was ‘Oh wow, this isn’t that bad!’ That’s the kind of teacher I want to become for these kids who struggle in math.”
Today, Mitchell, a 11-year teaching veteran, serves as that guiding light, one which hopefully will lead her Sewell Elementary fifth-grade students toward not only learning math, but also appreciating it.
Mitchell has spent 10 years in the Garland ISD and is about to embark on her second full year as a math-only teacher. Like her colleagues, she’s preparing for another 10-month campaign and she hopes to leave her students better off at the end of the “school year” than when they began it.
“Preparing for the school year, whether you’re first-year teacher or a veteran, you still do a lot of work,” she said. “There’s always something to learn. You learn what’s going on the in world, and apply that in the classroom.”
Mitchell added, “One of the biggest things is you’ve got to build relationships with the kids. You can’t start off straight with ‘OK, you’ve got to learn math, you’ve got to learn math.’ You’ve got to take the first week or two, get to know the kids and build those relationships.”
For the full story see the Aug. 24 issue or subscribe online.
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