Midwood Welcomes New Math Teachers

Mr. Linfield was inspired by his own high school math teacher. Photo credit: Haseeb Khan

By HASEEB KHAN and JUNYU LIANG

It’s your first day at a new school. Roaming through the crowded hallways, you finally find your first class. Now, you only have to wait for the students to come in so you can start your first day of teaching at a new school. Oh, you thought this article was going to be about incoming freshmen? Well, Midwood welcomes four new math teachers: Ms.BryAnn Scioli, Ms. Jordyn Green, Ms. Karina Minchuk, and Mr. Noah Linfield.

Ms. Scioli aspires to share her love for math that she got from her teachers with her students and to make sure that her students understand what they’re learning.

“When I was in the 12th grade, I took AP AB Calculus, and I had this teacher who made everything fun,” Ms. Scioli said. “She made me love math and I want to bring that love to my students.”

To make her lessons more fun and interesting, she plans to incorporate games in class. She also plans to encourage students to collaborate with each other so that they can build off on one another and help others understand something they didn’t know before.

She intends to give all her students the opportunity to have a greater comprehension of math.“The best part of teaching is watching a kid understand something they didn’t before, the ‘aha’ moment that students have” Ms. Scioli said. For her, the most fascinating aspect of teaching is when her students are able to fully understand a topic they didn’t understand before.

Ms. Scioli plans to continue her enthusiasm and love for teaching in her future classes.

Ms. Green wants to make sure that learning math is a fun and easy experience for all her students.

“I feel like a lot of students struggle at math, so I wanted to teach a subject that I could help in,” Ms. Green said. She wants to know that she made an impact on her students' lives and it was because of her that students are finally able to understand something that they didn’t know before.

Her desire to help her students was spurred by her teacher when she was a student in high school.

“I really liked my Algebra II teacher in sophomore year because, before that I didn’t think I would do good at math, but all of a sudden I was getting 90’s and 100’s and I thought it was because of the teacher,” Ms. Green said.

She believes that her scoring higher wasn’t because she just happened to get good at math in her sophomore year, but more because of a teacher who was able to make learning math “a fun and easy experience.” Because of this, she strives to become a teacher who is on par or even better than her teacher who embedded a love for math in her.

Ms. Minchuk aspires to make a difference in her students’ lives and to share her love for the subject. Like Ms. Scioli, she wants to share the love that she got from her teachers to her students.

“When I was a student, I often needed extra help with certain subjects, and there were many teachers who helped me move along,” Ms. Minchuk said. “I still remember these teachers, and that inspired me to become a teacher and make a difference in students’ lives”

Because Ms. Minchuk had great teachers who were able to help her when she was struggling, she also wants to help her students who are struggling or are falling behind.

She believes that it’s important for her students to learn math because “math is the universal language, and no matter what you want to do in life, whether it’s become a doctor, a lawyer, or a business person, every industry loves a person who knows numbers.”

Because math has so many applications in real life, Ms. Minchuk knows how important it is to leave a lasting impression and a deep sense of love for math, so that no matter what her students become later on in life, math will always be a part of it.

Mr. Linfield strives to make a comfortable and fun learning experience for his students, and give his students a love for math.

“When I started to teach, there were a lot of different variables to learn at once, but I was lucky to have a lot of people to provide guidance,” said Mr. Linfield.

Just like most students, the transition to a new school is always difficult, even for teachers, so having someone provide guidance helped with the transition. Mr. Linfield knows how hard the transition can be for students, so he wants to provide a comfortable and smooth transition for his students while still making sure they are learning the curriculum and having fun.

Mr. Linfield wants to show  the same care to his students as his teacher who inspired him did when he was younger. “My high school Math teacher, Mr. Pangeni,” Mr. Linfield said, “inspired me partly to go into teaching, but mostly [I was inspired by] the depth of his knowledge and the time he gave to his students.”

Mr. Linfield also plans to become a more active member in the school community by coaching for the basketball team, as he did play basketball in his high school’s varsity team.