By Stephanie Caron – Editor-in-Chief 

Ms. Russell has been teaching math at Law for three years. Advocate Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Caron interviewed Russell about her career.

Stephanie Caron: What is your favorite thing about teaching math?

Ms Russell: I like that there are multiple ways to think about and solve different problems. It’s interesting to see every student’s process and how they approach different problems. And to see them have that “AHH HAA!” moment is exciting for me! 

SC: What goals do you have for yourself and your students for the rest of the school year?

MR: I just hope that we can all finish the year healthy and safe. We worked so hard to get through this year, and there are so many great things planned for the end of the year, I want us to be able to enjoy it all! 

SC: How has COVID affected how you teach your classes?

MR: Teaching math online has definitely been a struggle, I am very much a pencil and paper girl. I know for me it is so much easier to really understand something when I am writing out the steps myself. I know that this can help my students as well, but not being able to see what they are doing on the other side of the Chromebook makes that very difficult. I try to use platforms like Desmos so that I can see the work that students are doing in real time, whether they are home or at school and be able to correct their mistakes. But I can’t wait for next year to (hopefully) be back to pencil and paper. 

SC: What do you enjoy doing outside of school? 

MR: I love going to the beach and walking the boardwalk at Walnut. Hopefully I will be able to go to some Yankee games this year. I missed the train ride to the stadium so much last year. 

SC: What do you hope your students take outside of your classroom? 

MR: I hope that students gain some confidence in my classroom. I know that not everyone is a math person, but when you have confidence in yourself and your thought process, you will learn so much (about math and yourself!)