An Inside Look: Fun facts, Women’s History Month, and her experience teaching at MPA
Interviewer: Kendall Shostak
Q: Do you have a favorite movie?
A: She said, “Shawshank Redemption because it’s about a person who’s wrongfully accused of a crime and their persistence on how to cope and their ability to find goodness in that situation.”
Overall Summary of the movie: Andy Dufresne gets sentenced to two life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. He is sent to a rough prison; while there, he forms a friendship with a character named Red.
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: Yes, a dog. His name is Peanut, and he is a basset-beagle. He was rescued from an illegal breeding situation where he was kept confined. This most likely resulted in a lingering fear of car rides.
However, he now gets complimented on his looks whenever the two go on walks together. The type of beagle Peanut is is a lemon beagle, which means he does not have black and brown spots and is white and yellow. A lemon beagle is a rare type, and so, people have often not seen a beagle with his markings before.
Her final words on Peanut were “even animals that have things about them that we have to accept.”
Q: What has your experience at MPA been like?
A: She has taught at MPA for 31 years. In that time, she expressed how she has “been able to be myself [herself].” The school has also given her the ability to run her classroom without mandatory, standardized tests.
She also enjoys being goofy in the classroom and seeing students who are interested in math, and even if they aren’t, they are open to learning. She also mentioned how one of the things that makes teaching at MPA enjoyable are her colleagues.
Q: What are your thoughts on Women’s History Month?
A: “I have always felt empowered as a woman in whatever I have done, but I know other women haven’t.”
This led to how she believes she did a good job raising her kids (two daughters and one son) in a way which did not emphasize gender differences. This has resulted in people who can see beyond gender. She also spoke about how she raised her children “to believe they can do anything they set their minds to.”
She also brought up how due to the past few years, she has begun to recognize that those elements of her beliefs come from a place of privilege. And she, along with her kids, have begun a journey in understanding how that affects their beliefs.
Q: Do you have any final thoughts?
A: She would like to thank the newspaper for interviewing her, and she is happy to talk with people about anything she’s mentioned in the interview.