Meet Dr. Buck

A Message From Dr. Buck

Growing up as a student I was “pretty good at math” in my elementary and middle school years. As the teacher taught the steps to solve the problems, I didn’t have much difficulty remembering them and repeating them. In fact, I remember my 6th grade math teacher singing the Glade Plug-In jingle, “Plug it in, plug it in” in teaching equations with variables. I mean, it wasn’t hard- just do what the teacher said to do and keep it moving. Then things changed.

Somewhere around high school, the whole “remember the steps, and do it yourself” routine had played itself out, and I no longer wanted to dedicate the time, or effort, to “learn math”. The steps were longer and dependent on one another, and the math really wasn’t going to affect my high school life. I found myself doing the bare minimum, if that, during many of my math classes. My junior year of high school I managed to pass Advanced Math with a D for the year, even after earning F’s for EACH of the 4 nine weeks. How does that averaging work?! (Stay tuned for my blog post- “I Wasn’t Always This Way” to hear more about this journey) Fast forward to adult life- I landed my first teaching job fresh out of college, and just before the school term was set to begin, my assignment was changed from Social Studies teacher, to Math teacher. Oh, great. My first year of teaching was much of what I learned about teaching as a student in public schools: introduce the vocabulary, work a few problems for students to watch, work a few problems together, then let the students demonstrate they have learned the skill. In between the routine, there were sprinkles of explorations and tasks that allowed my students to share their thinking, question the validity of the mathematics content, listen to the thoughts of their peers, and make connections to their everyday lives. It was these sprinkles that students remembered and continued to talk about for days, months, and even years after. After my first year of teaching, I decided that it was time to do better. That summer, I enrolled in a state funded math-science partnership program at the Center for Mathematics and Science at the University of Mississippi. Then things changed again.

During the two-week program, I quenched a thirst I never knew I had: a desire to know more about, and understand, mathematics, especially the content I was charged to teach. And why it works like it does. And where I see it in my life. And how all the pieces connect. For the first time in a long time, I was a learner being challenged, and secretly (sometimes not-so-secretly) celebrating moments of success. I returned to my classroom the next year with a deeper understanding of not just my grade-level content, but the content that would precede and follow, and how to guide students in understanding it. I returned with tasks and discussion prompts to engage my students in new experiences, and not just lessons. I didn’t keep these jewels to myself. As I learned and tried new things in my classroom, I began to encourage my colleagues to do the same. I returned that year with a sense of confidence that I was doing more than just teaching students arbitrary steps that would define if they were prepared for the next grade. I was teaching my students how to navigate life. That second year of teaching sparked a purpose driven passion for learning, teaching, and leading.

Today, I take joy in supporting teachers in growing their own content knowledge, as well as expanding their instructional practices. Although I sometimes miss witnessing the growth of my own set of students, knowing that my efforts have the potential to impact an exponential amount of students through their teachers fills my teacher heart.

I truly believe that ALL students are capable of learning. ALL students are capable of growing. ALL students are capable of succeeding. In the end, I’m still managing to do what I set out to do- impact the lives of ALL the students whose paths I cross, even if it’s through their teachers.

-Dr. Buck