Noyce Scholar Profile
Carmon McEachern
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: mathematics
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Secondary Education
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
T4 Scholarship
Current academic or teaching status:
senior
School and school district:
Stephen F. Austin State University
Background:
I am a senior at Stephen F. Austin State University, and I am involved in the Orchestra of the Pines as a violist. I also am a math tutor at the AARC and I’m an avid rock climber. I enjoy many outdoor activities and plan on bringing those life lesson into my classrooms.
Why do you want to teach:
My desire to teach is rooted in my love for mathematics. I thoroughly enjoy teaching mathematics, because I enjoy being creative with different approaches to the lesson. I want to teach math because I want to open doors for the students that felt they could not go into a field because they thought that it was too difficult. I want to reach out and bring up the students who fear math, and show them how fun it can be.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
One of my most memorable students I tutored in Algebra through the AARC at SFA. He had been talking to my boss about how badly he wanted a tutor, and he got put on the waiting list. My boss asked me if i wanted another client and I gladly accepted.
This student came to every session, and we started off very roughly. He was a kinesthetic learner and I had little experience with teaching this way. Every time we worked through something we struggled, but I never gave up on him. By the time his final came around he didn’t even need my help, he was a pro.
Seeing this student go from compleatly helpless and scared of math to confident and excited, was very inspiring.
I can bring up any student from where they’re at, and I cannot wait to do this in the classroom.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
Noyce has given me the experience and confidence I needed to enter a classroom. Hand on experience is more valuable than text book knowledge. I was able to learn from new and old teachers, work with a diverse demographic of students, and network with the mathematics community. Also I have made some very close friends that will support me for the rest of my life, in and out of the classroom.
