Math has never been for me. All through high school, I struggled to learn the concept of each math course I took. Every Monday, I spent an hour in the library with my tutor. I would wonder, why am I the only one not understanding what we are learning, why am I the only one with a tutor, why am I getting low grades on these quizzes. Always feeling overwhelmed with the continuing notes, quizzes and tests.

Going into senior year I was in a hard math course, barely making the cut of passing the class. This is when I decided in the 2nd semester, I needed to go down a level. Giving a full effort  to be able to understand what was going on. Many worries were going through my mind– will this even help, will I be able to pick up on the things they worked on in the first semester, is this teacher helpful?

Entering the class, I was greeted by a teacher I have had in the past. I was now not worried at all. In the past, this teacher was the only math class I had received an “A” in. I was comfortable, I was able to talk to her, and the nice thing was she listened. 

Reassurance is the new emotion that comes to me when I think about math. Every day in class we will go over our homework, this is a normal concept in all math classes, but with Ms. Jaquish, it’s different. She will walk around the room and help, stand in front of the class and write on the board, providing more examples of these types of problems. Every day that passes, I always feel more comfortable and confident going to math class.

Thanks to the help of Ms. Jaquish, I no longer need a tutor. In class is a perfect time to ask any questions I may have on our current concepts. Her teaching made me realize that math isn’t so bad after all. It made me think that I can succeed in math classes and if that isn’t the case, she is the teacher I would feel comfortable talking about my problems with. Ms. Jaquish has given me the total realization that teachers are open and helpful, and that I just need to put myself out there and ask.