My name is Mary Pritchard. I have been a high school math teacher since 1997. It is a job that I have spent my life preparing for and enjoying. I decided that I wanted to be a teacher in the third grade and took home extra papers over the summer and held my own little school in the backyard. I had my dad fix up a storage shed for me to pretend that it was my little schoolhouse. By the time that I reached the sixth grade, I had decided that I most definitely wanted to be a math teacher.
I graduated from Marion High School. I went to college at the local junior college and university even though I had been accepted farther away so that I could be close to home and help with the family business. Once I graduated from college, I worked at a high school in an urban area, but very soon realized that I missed my hometown and family. I applied back in my hometown and have been working there since 2003. I have taught a variety of math classes and even coached a few years before having my own children. Shortly before moving home I met my husband and we married a few years later. Then in another year we started our own little family. Although trying to adjust to being a mommy while teaching and coaching was very stressful, I could not image not going to work every day. I know that there are days that I feel I am better teacher than I am on other days, but I strive to be the best I can every day by realizing that I have weaknesses and working to make them better. I even completed my master's degree in Math Education. I also know that my greatest strength is the concern I feel for people in general, but most importantly my students. I give my time freely to the struggling students and I always treat all my students fairly and in the way that they deserve to be treated. Interacting with the teenagers is one of the most enjoyable things about my job.
When I am not busy teaching or attending a high school event, I am at home being a mom, who is constantly driving her kids to some event, practice, or party, and being a wife. I played volleyball, basketball, softball, and threw shotput and discus in high school. I love most sports and I am also discovering a love of soccer since my kids have decided that is a sport that they love. I also enjoy listening to music and spending some quiet time reading. My favorite hobby, one that my grandmother took the time to teach me, is making quilt tops and embroidery. I am also a life long learner and have currently started working on a Bachelor's in accounting just because I enjoy it.