Tejeda Middle School math teacher Shannon Hauser makes math fun. Harry Potter and Pokémon references fill her classroom. On one of her dry-erase boards, she’s got drawings of monsters with four eyes and 11 arms. Those monsters help her students understand ratios, and the Pokémon and Harry Potter stuffies help her understand her students.
“Everything is about my relationships. I always say that my relationships are the primary. The math is secondary because if I don’t get them, if I don’t hook them who they are as human beings, then yeah, I’m never going to get them to figure out what math is because people don’t like math. It’s not their favorite subject. But when you make the atmosphere fun or engaging, then, of course, the math just comes easy.”
Watching her teach makes it easy to see how those relationships are cultivated into a fun and engaged room full of students. Hauser is there for the kids. She wants them to succeed. She’s got a servant’s heart. She’s not only a teacher. She’s a mom and an Air Force veteran.
“It is probably one of the things I am proudest of besides being a mom. Being a veteran is definitely something I’m proud of. Veterans give a piece of themselves to their country, and I think that’s amazing. So, I am honored to be a part of that.”
After serving her country, she decided to serve children. She’s taught for 17 years, helping students build a strong foundation for math and lifelong learning. But for Hauser, that learning isn’t a one-way street. She’s learning daily from them, too.
“Especially these kids. I can’t even explain to you how much of a light they are. They are just amazing. They’re happy. They’re fun. They want to learn,” said Hauser. “I know that what we do here is going to make it easier for them or harder for them. I want to make it easier for them. That’s the whole point of being a middle school teacher is getting a solid foundation so that they’re ready for high school and beyond. We have a good school here. We have a really good school.”
Thank you, Shannon, for building strong foundations and strong relationships #theNEISDway
