Building Relationships and Finding Purpose: Laura Hill's Journey as a Middle School Math Teacher

In this episode of the Hornet Hive podcast, Dr. Christopher Lewis, a member of the Williamston Community Schools Board of Education, welcomes Laura Hill, a middle school math teacher, to the show. Dr. Lewis expresses his excitement about the opportunity to discuss the incredible work happening within the district and the dedicated staff members who contribute to its success.

Laura Hill shares her journey to becoming a teacher in Williamston. She initially graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in chemistry and mathematics and was actively seeking a high school science teaching position. However, she decided to broaden her search and eventually found an opening for a math teaching position at Williamston Middle School. Laura recounts her positive first impression of the district, the warm reception she received during her interview, and the welcoming atmosphere at the school.

As the conversation progresses, Dr. Lewis delves into what has sustained Laura during her years at Williamston Middle School and what makes the district a great place to work. Laura emphasizes two significant factors: the impact she has on students and the support of her colleagues. She refers to her "victory log," a collection of letters, emails, and notes from students expressing gratitude and showcasing the positive influence she has had on their learning journeys. Laura also highlights the collaborative and student-focused environment among the staff, emphasizing their dedication to doing what's best for the students.

The discussion shifts to Laura's passion for teaching middle school math. She initially aspired to be a high school science teacher but found her calling when she started teaching math at the middle school level. She appreciates the energy and enthusiasm middle school students bring to the classroom, their willingness to learn, and their potential to develop a love for math. Laura shares her experience of helping students overcome their fear of math and building their confidence, making math a more enjoyable subject.

The episode concludes with Laura sharing a heartfelt story about the memorable 7th-grade camp experience the district used to offer. She reflects on the impact of this program, which allowed teachers to connect with students outside the classroom, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and teaching the whole child. Dr. Lewis expresses his appreciation for Laura's dedication to making math engaging for students and her commitment to helping them succeed.

In closing, Dr. Lewis thanks Laura for sharing her story and insights, highlighting the significance of the podcast in showcasing the experiences and stories of the district's educators.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Christopher Lewis [00:00:20]:

Welcome back to the Hornet Hive. I'm your host, doctor Christopher Lewis, one of the members of the Williamston Community Schools Board of Education. Really excited To have you back again this week. As always, every week, I love being able to sit down and talk to you about the amazing things that are happening within our schools. And that's not just amazing activities or programs that we offer, but it really also is about the people And the teachers and the staff that are interacting with our students on a daily basis. And it's important for you to know people Within the schools, even if your kids have graduated long before or maybe you have young kids and they're not in high school yet, but we're We're talking to a high school teacher or or it may be a teacher you may never meet or a staff member you may never meet or your kids may never meet. But that's okay Because every person in our district is doing amazing work to be able to help our kids define success, make our schools safe, And make our schools a even better place. So I love being able to sit down and talk with people every week And introduce you to them.

Christopher Lewis [00:01:29]:

This week, we got another great guest. Laura Hill is with us this week, and she is a Middle school math teacher. We're gonna be talking about her experience as a math teacher, her experience in the district, and get to know her a little bit more. Laura, thanks so much for being here today.

Laura Hill [00:01:45]:

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Christopher Lewis [00:01:47]:

It is my pleasure having you here today. And first and foremost, one of the first things I always love doing is I love I love to be able to have the power to turn the clock back in time. And I would love to go back to that To that the very beginning, what initially brought you to

Laura Hill [00:02:03]:

Williamston? Initially, what brought me to Williamston is I had graduated from Michigan State University. I was looking for a teaching job. And at the time, I graduated with a bachelor's in chemistry and mathematics, but I was really Looking for a chemistry job. I really wanna be in high school. I wanna be a science teacher. And I started looking at schools, And I started interviewing. Most of the jobs at the time that I were finding were down in Detroit area, like Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham. And when I would go down there and interview, I could tell it was not gonna be a good fit for me to be down in that area.

Laura Hill [00:02:42]:

And so I started broadening Where I wanted to look, opening up to think about teaching math actually. And I found an opening at Williamson Middle School. So I came out to apply and drop off my packet and my cover letter and my resume. And it was interesting because just driving out to the school, I loved just the country roads I was driving on. And then when I pulled up to the school, it was very welcoming. There was a garden that was out front That had been established by one of the science teachers at the time. I remember walking into the middle school. The secretary was very welcoming, and I thought, wow, I could just Tell, I got a good feeling.

Laura Hill [00:03:19]:

I thought this could be a good place to work. And then I did a little, research and kinda looking at schools. And when I started looking online, I thought, oh, wow. This really could be a great place to work. And so I remember interviewing. And at the time when I interviewed, the principal at the time kinda said, I'm surprised you've been applied for this job because you're not even qualified or meeting what we need. Because one of their the things they said they needed was Someone that could teach 2 different classes at the middle school because at the time, they were doing teaming. And since I had a chemistry Certification and not as general science.

Laura Hill [00:03:55]:

I was not certified to teach science at the time at the middle school. So the principal said, you really can only teach math. That's not gonna be what we need necessarily. But at the same time, I guess it ended up all working out because after interviewing, they decided to hire me. I was part of a 4 person team instead of a 2 or a 3 person team, so I was able to teach just the math within the middle school. And, you know, that's kinda how it started.

Christopher Lewis [00:04:18]:

Now you've been in the district for a number of years. And as we were talking before we started our interview today, You talked about the fact that there are things that sustain you over the years. And one of the things I is your victory log That you kind of delve into and and pull things out of every once in a while when you want to have an opportunity to kind of get reinforced for what you're doing and seeing the impact that you're having. But I guess as you look at your years in the district, what has sustained you over the years in the district. And what makes Williamson a great place to work?

Laura Hill [00:04:53]:

I think there would be 2 things. The first thing, when thinking about what I talked to to you about beforehand, that victory log, I can't remember Who said it? I might have been a mentor teacher of mine a long time ago or might have been just PD I went to, but that is something to help rejuvenate me. And when I looked in there, most of that was just Letters from students, emails, handwritten letters, notes they sent me, things they wrote and then put on my desk. And I think one of the things that sustains me is the students And knowing that I'm making an impact and making a difference and that's visible when they write those letters and I read back and think of Things and how I connected and those relationships with my students. The 2nd piece is really the teachers and the staff And my collaborators around me, I love being at the middle school. I love the people that I work with. And Even from day 1, like, my mentor teacher way back when I first started had a amazing impact on me and helped me grow, become the teacher I am today. Even my colleagues, The team so we were team teaching then.

Laura Hill [00:05:55]:

The team of my teachers, both the team I was with and the entire 7th grade that I was a part of, really helped support me and helped me grow. And I've never wanted to leave Williamston because I feel that we're continuously growing as a Staff and together and working together to become better, and it's very student focused, always trying to do what's best for kids, and I think that's really important. So I think it's The students. I think it's the staff. And then even the community that is around us is a really big and important part of what makes this school and this Town's so awesome.

Christopher Lewis [00:06:28]:

You you talked about the fact that you love the middle school, and middle school is not always where people wanna be. Working with middle school students is not always the group of students that people wanna work with. What is it about not only middle school, but middle school math that Drew you in and made you want to not only work in the area, but stay in the area.

Laura Hill [00:06:49]:

So it's funny you said that because at the beginning, I told you I thought always thought I was gonna be a high school science teacher. And I feel like that was my goal initially, and I probably would have loved that too. But I think it might have been more focused on content than students, Possibly not because I think, at the same time, you're helping prepare them for the next steps and what's to come. But I got a job first in the middle school, And I'll tell you, that 1st year was tough. I thought, what in the world have I gotten myself into? I had never been in a middle school other than going in and kind of tutoring and doing some After school programming, but my internship, my student teaching was all at the high school. And middle schoolers are very different than high schoolers. They have a lot more energy. They're going through adolescence figuring out who they are and learning how to manage in their behaviors.

Laura Hill [00:07:33]:

And and so that 1st year was tough, but then what I realized, especially being a math teacher is that I could make a difference because a lot of students would come in, and I feel like they'd say, oh, I'm not good at math or I can't do math This has always been tricky, and even sometimes parents would say, oh, they struggle with this, but I struggle with this. It's kind of that math fear in a sense or phobia. But I feel that The middle school is easier to make that impact because when they're excited about it still, they're excited about learning, you can help shift those attitudes. You just have to Figure out a way to reach them and help it make sense, and then they start to build that confidence. They start to grow. And by the end of the year, sometimes it's like a whole different child and they're like, wow. Actually like math. Math isn't so bad.

Laura Hill [00:08:16]:

Oh, it's kinda cool. This works in this way, and and I feel like being in math and being in middle school, that's the The best place for me to really make that difference, and I really like the students as well because they bring a certain energy. They're not as afraid of being silly and having fun and still playing games to learn, and so I enjoy that.

Christopher Lewis [00:08:36]:

Now every teacher is a storyteller. Every teacher has their stories. There's Students that walk into the classroom and leave that indelible mark. But there are other stories as well that really sustain you as we talked about Things that you reflect back on, the impact that you make. As you think about your time at Williamston Middle School, Can you share a story with me that for you really epitomizes the experience that you've had as a Williamston staff member?

Laura Hill [00:09:04]:

That's a tough question. I think one of the things that just Happened early on in my career that we don't do anymore is we used to take our kids to 7th grade camp. And we used to go for an entire week, Leave on a Monday, come back on a Friday overnight, and that was a really special time. It was special to learn about our students. It was special to show them and expose them to other things in the world and things that maybe are different, that you learn about outside of the classroom as opposed to in the classroom. And it was also a special time for us as colleagues to connect and connect with each other and with our students. And I remember just one of the things that we would do is we had a a teacher that played the guitar and was an amazing singer. And I remember At night, we would if the kids were quiet and in their beds, we would go around and we would sing the students lullabies.

Laura Hill [00:09:55]:

And I am not a singer. I remember something stuck in my head as my mom said to me once, Laura, you can do anything you want, but you can't sing. Right? Really? So I've never ever do anything because once my mom said that, I'm, like, I'm gonna be a singer, although I'm not great. But I was not afraid to go with my colleagues and sing lullabies to the Kids. And I think even though we don't do that now, I still try to find ways to connect with kids out of the classroom, To see them in other lights because that going to 7th grade camp and doing that really made an impact about recognizing and Teaching and learning and building a relationship with the whole child, not just what they're like in your math classroom, right, but what they're like in all these different ways in their life.

Christopher Lewis [00:10:37]:

Appreciate you sharing that. I did not realize that we used to have a 7th grade camp because it was before that was not here when my kids went through the district, but that's really fun. And it sounds like an amazing experience for the kids that were going through.

Laura Hill [00:10:49]:

There was a day that was called survival day where they would go out. You'd learn how to build shelter in the woods. You cook on the fire. You would learn about with a compass and how to navigate and find your way. There were evening programs. There was, like, underground railroad we did and just even a square dance, just eating dinner with them, learning how to use their manners to clean up after yourself. I mean, it was an Amazing experience.

Christopher Lewis [00:11:13]:

Oh, Laura, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for sharing your own journey, your own story, and for all that you do to Make math fun for the kids and connect with the kids to help the kids to be able to get through a subject that isn't always Their favorite. I can't say it isn't the favorite of all students because some students really do connect with it. But but I do know that for some others, like you said, there's that fear that goes along with it. And I know firsthand that you do a great job in working with our kids To be able to be able to alleviate that stress and that fear, and I just wanna say thank you for that, for helping kids through that or being with our district for so many years, and I wish you all the best.

Laura Hill [00:12:00]:

Well, thank you, and thank you for having me and doing the podcast. Because even as a A teacher in the district, it's fun to learn about other teachers and hear their stories, especially the ones that I don't know down at the elementary school or the newer teachers I haven't met, so I do appreciate this as well.