What better way to start a blog? Hello, world!
I’ve been working on building FlippinMath.com for the past 5 years, and I’d like to formally introduce myself.
Hi, I’m Tammy Reeves. I have been a teacher since 2004, and even before that, I always knew I would be. Education is in my blood. My mom was a “Parent in Participation” at my sister’s elementary school when I was born. A few days later, I accompanied her in a kid carrier where she continued to work and I grew up, very literally, in school.
Photo credit to that nice lady at CVS photo booth!
My Backstory
For me, school was more than a building. It was an extended family, and I lived for the excitement of learning something with them. The librarian and principal were my best friends, and I’d share jokes or thread the filmstrip projector to watch “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket.”
I spent my first 4 years teaching music for kindergarten up through 8th grade at a sweet and wonderful Montessori school. Technically, it was a part-time teaching job but I’ve never been good at being a part-time teacher. It took a lot of my time, and I had another job at a health food store on the side to make ends meet. Not to mention, I couldn’t get enough hours at either job to qualify for benefits.
It was time to move on. I stayed at that “other job” for 8 years. It became THE job, my time at the local health food store. Let me tell you, I love loved it. And I scratched the education itch by teaching classes to customers in the store dining room to explain our products. In 2010, I left retail and returned to school to get my MAT in Mathematics. Coincidentally, it was around that time when I learned I was to be a mom.
I learned online, earned my degree from Western Governors University. I appreciated the freedom and flexibility the online platform gave me in the pacing and needs of my education. Eventually, I was recruited to teach a Math Specials class for K-5, and then moved on to work in a public high school for four years. I heard about planning for a new STEM school, and I fought my way in front of the admin team to earn myself a spot in their founding crew. In both general and special ed math, teaching Project Based Lessons and encouraging authentic learning.
The times, they are a-changing.
I don’t have to tell anyone, 2020, and the aftermath year of 2021 were intense. A whole school year, I was isolated from loved ones as I couldn’t keep them safe in my current setting. In that time, I began tutoring online and I found a part-time job with an international virtual academy.
Why am I saying all this? Well, honestly, I don’t know. Maybe it is the lack of socialization that the public school provided. Or perhaps in my advancing years, I’ve started to feel reflective and want to find meaning in the years I’ve spent passionate about teaching. You know, it could be the absurd pace at which education is changing, and my need to talk out the big feelings I get when I think with nostalgia of the classrooms of yesteryear. In fact, I read an interesting article lately, maybe you’re heard of the increasing role of automation in education, too — https://leadaz.org/2021/04/08/how-automation-will-change-education/.
Obviously, I’m all about the change — I love online learning, and there are tons of automated programs and apps that make teacher life so much easier. I think the online capabilities have opened the opportunities and absolutely flipped the narrative of what math education is, who teachers are in the process, and how education might evolve in this more open, more global setting. The question is, how do we pivot this education ship to not only meet the pressures from the growing internet-society, but to live up to the responsibility of training the youth of America to prosper and be successful in that emerging new world! And what is a teacher’s place in this new education? What is my place?
I could literally talk about teaching math incessantly. Nine years of high school math — professional development, personal research, and amazing collaborating colleagues provide a veritable library of information. I’ve come to wonder, “What is it good for, this knowledge?” Sure I help a small group of students every semester, and that brings me joy. But until math is no longer America’s least favorite, there are always more people I could be helping.
So, what’s next?
The 21st Century is connected. It’s global and its scalable.
Across the country, I’d venture to say all students will spend time with math. And regardless of their geographic location, the underlying principals are the same. Strategies differ, but math is math and the numbers behave the same. I want to help everyone. Students? I want to help them to understand math. Parents? I hope I can help them not be afraid of the “new math” skills. And teachers? Any handout, video, or other resource that teachers don’t have to create has the potential to really help!
And so, I write! I’ll be sharing my favorite math gurus, math patterns, and ideas to make math education easier for everyone involved! I’ve been told I have a strange sense of fun, but I really enjoy teaching math–I still enjoy learning math! And I hope over time, I can share that with at least a few people here in my global neighborhood!