Study Hall

I told my calc kids I’d stay for an hour after school today if they wanted to get an early start on their next study guide. A small group showed, and they sat and worked and asked questions when they had them.

I like to think I’m halfway decent at teaching overcrowded class sizes. I still check in with every kid every day, no matter the size.

But my passion for teaching math started years ago, when I realized I could explain algebra concepts in different ways to my fellow middle schoolers than our teachers could. My passion started by just sitting with my friends in study hall—a handful of us at a time—showing them how to solve linear equations, evaluate functions, and draw lines.

And so when I get to sit with just a handful of kids…four instead of thirty-four…it reminds me of how all this started.

I read recently that we don’t find meaning in our lives; we create it.

There’s something visceral that ignites in me when I get to sit with another person and witness the confidence build as their math skills grow.

It’s important we recognize and name that feeling. That’s joy: getting to bear witness to their growth—and not just bear witness to it but be instrumental in it.

That’s how we continue to create meaning, how we keep our stories alive: we stop and listen to that Small Voice. And we say, “This. This right here is good.”