ABOUT ME

I can honestly say that I hate writing 'about me' sections. The least I can do is answer some of the questions that I ask my students at the beginning of the year, right?

I am Jenna Monson, and I teach Math 7 and Secondary Math 1. One of my heroes is Bill Nye--yes, the science guy. If I went to Hogwarts, I would be sorted into Ravenclaw house (at least that's what Pottermore told me). I have three furry children--Rufio is a black lab/cattle dog mix, Tiger Lily is a border collie, and Jim Hook is a coonhound. I refuse to tell you my favorite book, on account of it being a completely unfair question. I love all books. I spend my free time skiing, biking, running, playing soccer, or climbing with my hubby, and reading (not with my hubby... obviously).

One of the last questions I ask my students is how they feel about math. If you had asked me how I feel about math 5 years ago, I would have laughed and rolled my eyes. 

To be honest, I used to hate math. I am terribly slow at math and awful at memorizing things. As a result of that and fixed mindset teachers, I grew up thinking I was not smart enough and just couldn't do math. I simply gave up on trying.

Partially through college, I realized that being fast or being able to memorize a bunch of abstract formulas does not make you a good mathematician. In fact, most great mathematicians are slower because they take time to really think about problems. After this earth-shattering realization (okay, that was a little dramatic, but it did changed my entire life trajectory), I started getting straight A's. Me--straight A's! It was a complete 180 degree change for me. Through my degrees in Psychology (B.S.) and Cognitive Science (M.S.), I found that I loved statistics--that it actually made sense to me. After that, I started tutoring and teaching. The rest is history.

If you ask me how I feel about math now, I would say I love it. Truly. 

Soap box over.