What I learned from a bad math teacher at one of the nation's best schools

Opinion: My experience raises important questions about the choices Arizona schools make when they hire math teachers.

Katrina Beschloss
opinion contributor
The empty classroom

What makes a good math teacher?

Smart students who are talented in math? A mathematician’s brain? Or simply the patience to teach students who learn at their own pace and in their own way?

It took me seven years of math – and plenty of trials and troubles – before I was finally able to answer what makes a math teacher teach well.

The answer might surprise you, and it raises important questions about the choices schools make when they hire math teachers. In fact, 42 percent of Arizona public school teachers hired in 2013 left their jobs by 2016, noted a 2017 report from ASU’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, which also found that the most difficult positions to recruit included math and science teachers.

Bad teachers don't just work at 'bad' schools

At 11, I attended one of the top schools in the country, right here in Scottsdale. As a sixth grader, I was placed in my first upper-level math course, Algebra 1. My teacher seemed to have it all: A smart group of students, a top school to teach at and a math degree from MIT. He seemed to possess the necessary things to teach math well, yet he was not a good teacher.

I felt afraid in class and scared to ask questions. As he quickly moved through the lessons, I was falling behind and struggling to keep up. I felt isolated from my classmates. Worse, my teacher publicly degraded me for not picking up the lessons as fast as the other students.

I was frustrated: I sat in class, I listened to the lessons and did the homework, so what was I missing? I was missing a good math teacher, who would not focus on my failures and label me by them, but understand why I failed and take the time to help me through it.

A patient teacher made the difference

Katrina Beschloss.

After this unsuccessful year, I made the decision to change schools. At my new school, I found something different, two math teachers who changed my outlook. In seventh grade, I took a pre-algebra class to strengthen my fundamentals. Most important, my math teacher took the time to help me sort through the basics I was missing.

This boosted my confidence. Now going into eighth grade, I would retake the same Algebra 1 class that was so discouraging for me before. I was worried that my success in my previous class was just a fluke and had nothing to do with my own attitude.

However, it turned out to be a success. My teacher did not let his own capabilities in the subject get in the way of teaching a group of 13- and 14-year-olds. Happily, I was able to pick up the lessons, but only later did I realize there was still something missing.

In my junior year in high school, I was nervous about taking an advanced math course involving trigonometry and calculus. But my fears were unnecessary because my math teacher not only understood how to communicate the math itself, she also grasped the emotional side of the equation.

How Arizona can attract good teachers

She understood that every student learns at their own pace and in their own way. She would go over the lessons several different ways and would take a whole week to teach one lesson if we needed it. She was smart, didn’t teach down to us, and she had the patience to teach the students where they were.

Now in my senior year, I could have skipped math all together. However, after finally reaching a point where I felt like I could succeed in math and continue to develop my knowledge, I signed up to take one of the hardest math classes in my school.

Luckily, I was able to continue working with my teacher from my junior year. Every day she inspires me, motivates me, pushes me to work my hardest and makes me feel understood.

Many schools may hire teachers who are good in math, but every school would benefit from math teachers who also understand how to connect with their students.

Before this happens, it may take higher teacher pay, better mentoring for new and early-career teachers, and maybe even an annual prize for the best math teacher voted on by students.

Katrina Beschloss is a senior at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale. Reach her at kbeschloss@gmail.com.