This month we are spotlighting the outstanding math teacher Ms. Heather Chick. She is a very well-known math teacher that teaches Integrated Math 2, Integrated Math 2 Honors, and Integrated Math 3. She is also the math department chair at Mayfair. This is her first year as the math department chair in her 15 years of working at Mayfair. Ms. Chick has only taught at Mayfair.
Ms. Chick went to California State University, Long Beach earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, both in mathematics with an emphasis in secondary education.
She decided she wanted to become a teacher during high school. She explained, “I was really good at math, and I was always good at helping my friends with math.” She continued by saying, “I was the best at math and that’s what I went with.” Ms. Chick loves math so much that she decided she wanted to be a math teacher when she was still in high school.
There are many challenges that come along with teaching. Ms. Chick said, “Some of the struggles I have with students are apathy, students not really caring, and obviously students not doing their classwork or homework which makes it challenging while teaching.” She also added, “I try to connect with students and try to alleviate some of that dislike of math, but it is hard when students don’t care about the subject, that’s always a major struggle.”
On the other hand, there are many things that teachers love about teaching that inspire them to teach even more. Ms. Chick said, “I love getting to meet new people and engaging with them and learning what they like and sharing interests. If you get to know students on their level, you can communicate with them better. I am always trying to do that. I am a people person, I love talking to students and getting to know them better.”
Ms. Chick was fortunate in how she got interviewed and got the job on the same day. At the time, she was looking for a job that was close to her house. “I felt super lucky” she said. “They were looking for teachers at that time and had an opening spot which made me lucky to get the job on the same day.”
Outside of school, there are many hobbies Ms. Chick loves doing: singing at church, archery, and going to comic-con.
Ms. Chick also loves watching movies in her free time. It is one thing that makes her very happy. She always loves going to the movie theater and watching movies. Her favorite movie genres are science fiction or fantasy.
Ms. Chick is always working very hard to teach and help students with math all the time. She helps students with math almost every day whether it is during lunch or after school in math tutoring that she holds after school a couple of days a week.