I went back to university in 1989 when I was in my 40s. I had been out of school for 25 years and was at university at the same time as three of my four children. In fact, I took convocation with my daughter, Anne.
I was lucky that I got the opportunity to teach at the college level and taught at the same university where I received my MS in mathematics. My specialty in my Masters Degree is Topology. In Idaho Falls, I was an adjunct Professor for Idaho State University, extension campus. I taught for eight years.
When I moved to the Seattle area I got the opportunity to teach at the two-year college and I have been at Olympic College as a full professor for 15+ years.
Since I was very young I have loved mathematics. I work hard at it because I enjoy it. I am blessed that every day I can work in a subject area that I love and interact with students who are in many ways at the beginning of their respective careers.
Several years ago I was introduced to the work of CCN and it interested me. Young people learn differently and I feel that as a professor who has an influence on how they approach their future careers it is important that I am open and flexible in my approach to teaching.
The team at CCN describe me not only as ‘Professor’ – they describe me as an ‘Educator.’ They explain that they work with Professors who are Educators – and that makes the difference. Educators think first about their students and embrace tools that enhance student learning. CCN modules most definitely do that.
As an Educator, the power that learning gives students is life changing: students break through barriers to learning and gain their own confidence and competence. Students acquire the tools to get on with their lives and open doors to career opportunities. I especially love to teach women – specifically mature women – who think and believe that they cannot learn math.
The CCN team introduced me to their non-profit work through Loss of Generality (LoG). I am impressed with this work and gave authorization for LoG to use modules developed for my classes. I am honoured that my work is being used by LoG in parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Through the CCN team I was introduced to the work that the team does in its non-profit, Loss of Generality (LoG). I am proud to be a part of the team and to see that teachers and students in the Middle East and Africa are now using my math modules. To see photographs of students using my modules – translated into Arabic – is powerful. For me, this connection to students in the US and in other countries is what education is about. When I shared with my US students that other students are using the same modules they are using, they were quite impressed. I hope that it opened their perspective to see education in a wider context.