Disruptive, defiant and generally out of control — a classroom full of the type of students who would make any new teacher second-guess their career choice.
Yet Monica Spradlin ’17, a mathematics major at Texas A&M University, inexplicably found herself drawn to them.
For 10 weeks this past spring, Spradlin sat as an observer within a local disciplinary alternative education placement school for 7th and 8th graders. She assisted when needed, which was more often than not, and quietly noted that some students acted out for attention, while others displayed all the hallmarks of obvious behavioral issues.
Regardless of their motivation, Spradlin made it a point to personally help the students with their assignments. As she did, she noticed their attitudes drastically improved with the one-on-one interaction — to the point that they began taking a genuine interest in their schoolwork.
Spradlin likewise experienced her own epiphany, coming to the realization somewhere during the observational process that the so-called “bad kids” often are anything but.
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Spradlin explained. “It was so exciting to see that these students actually cared about their education, but it was also really sad knowing that a lot of teachers won’t put up with their attitude, and so they get sent to an alternative school instead of getting a true education in a classroom. They need kindness, love and patience.
“Above all, they need patience.”
Spradlin hopes to one day apply that doctrine to students of her own as a high school mathematics teacher. The Friendswood native is simultaneously earning her applied mathematics degree through the Department of Mathematics and her Texas high school mathematics teaching certificate via the aggieTEACH program, Texas A&M’s nationally peer-reviewed teacher recruitment and preparation model. And she’s not just a member; she also serves as the program’s president.
A collaborative effort between the College of Science and the College of Education and Human Development, aggieTEACH enables undergraduates to become certified middle and high school mathematics and science teachers — positions in high demand statewide and nationally — while completing their major in the traditional four years. The program boasts a 100 percent job placement rate and has helped position the university as the state leader in university trained math and science teacher production for more than a decade.
For Spradlin, the decision to pursue teaching was the result of finding herself at an academic crossroads during her sophomore year. Up to that point, she had planned to enroll in medical school after graduation but became disenchanted with some of the required undergraduate coursework.
###
Continue reading his story by Chris Jarvis on the College of Science website.
