Teachers Talk Cool Classes 2-23-19

Mentors, Potential, and Superpowers with Ms. Megan Moreno

Welcome to the first edition of Teachers Talk Cool Classes of 2019! The featured teacher of this month is Ms. Megan Moreno from the NSA Math department.

Over the past semester, I have taken a class under Ms. Moreno, and she has repeatedly shown how deeply she wants to see every one of her students succeed and grow in her class. Her passion for teaching has truly been expressed as she takes time to thoroughly answer the questions of her students and challenge them to reach out and explore their potential as mathematicians, as students, and as children of God. Ms. Moreno has always remained a relatable and incredibly encouraging teacher, one who is always hopeful in her students and the path their lives will follow. In this interview, she discusses the superpower she would never want, the story about the Penny in the Thanksgiving Stuffing, and the importance of believing in oneself and trusting the path the Lord has set for each individual.

What classes do you teach?

I teach Engineering and Technology, Electronics, and Algebra II (Regular and Honors). Also, I teach AP Calculus AB. I used to teach AP Calculus BC, but I handed it off to Mrs. Deere in order to rewrite the Algebra II curriculum. In handing off BC, I didn’t realize I would have such an awesome teacher to work within the Calculus division. She is so fun to work with, and I love it.

Do you think you will ever teach Calculus BC again?

Personally, I have always felt a deeper connection with AB. Calculus I and Calculus II were my favorite parts of calculus in college. Also, I wasn’t necessarily a fan of Sequences and Series, which are part of Calculus BC. Also, now that I no longer teach BC, I can put more attention into the content of the courses I teach now.

What is your best tip for students?

“You are stronger than you seem, braver than you believe, and smarter than you think.” (Winnie the Pooh)

There is a great quote at the end of Winnie the Pooh that I like to tell my students whenever they come to me and feel trapped in a rut. It is this: “You are stronger than you seem, braver than you believe, and smarter than you think.” I grew up with Winnie the Pooh, and I never really left the phase. Whenever I see old Winnie the Pooh movies on TV, I stop and watch them as they remind me of simpler times in life. When Christopher Robin said the above quote to Winnie the Pooh before he left, I thought, “Wow, that is so profound,” but I didn’t really know what it meant. However, when I grew up, I started to hear it more often. Life, in general, throws us so many obstacles, and because of our sin nature, we tend to think negatively of ourselves. We tend to look over at people like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and think, “I could never be that strong.” With that mindset, yes, we could never be that strong. Or, I could look at Mrs. Melissa Moreno and think, “I could never be as smart as her.” In truth, with effort and belief in myself, I can be as smart as her. Also, she could be looking at me and thinking the exact same things. For example, she might be saying, “There are things Megan is doing that I could never accomplish,” while I could be thinking, “There are things Melissa is doing that I could never accomplish.” If we keep thinking negatively of ourselves and we keep saying, “I will never,” or “I can never,” then we will never, and can never do those things. If you say, “I am not now, but I want to be there, and I am going to work to get there,” then you can.

What is your favorite subject to study in math?

Calculus is definitely my favorite subject. It makes sense to me, and it is straightforward in the sense that you have a problem that you can plug into a system and work through it. Also, everything I have been interested in concerning the advancement of my education has been related to calculus. For example, everything I am doing in my research is calculus-based. It is everywhere around me, and it is a matter of a forced relationship which I don’t resent at all. On the other hand, Mrs. Moreno is on the other end of the spectrum. She is the statistics major, and we work really well together on the same research team. She does the statistics side of the research, and I do the calculus portion.

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

I would choose teleportation, as I hate road trips. However, I can also tell you what I wouldn’t choose: I would not choose mindreading. I can be self-conscious and often think of the people around me, “Are they thinking negatively of me?” What are they thinking about me?” Sometimes, when I talk to my best friend I think he is giving me a look that says, “You’re so weird,” even though he is actually thinking something entirely different. Then, I will have to ask him, “What does that face mean?” Consequently, I would not choose to mind-read as I know I would not want to know what everyone thinks of me.

In regards to self-consciousness, I have seen so many students comparing themselves to others and saying that they will not be as good as their peers. In fact, I have even caught myself doing this as well. I often compare myself to my best friend and see all of her successes that are not happening in my life, such as getting married and having a family. However, I am working on my master’s degree, building my career, and doing all of this, all while looking at her life and asking, “What is going on in her life that is not happening in mine?” I am not thinking, “Is what I am doing in my life what God wants me to do?” Comparing ourselves to others is a result of our sin-like nature. However, when I say “sin-like,” I do not mean malice, but rather not thinking in a God-like manner. God thinks that I am in my Father’s form and that whatever I do, as long as it is unto the Lord, is right and good. However, we constantly compare ourselves to other people and think of ourselves as a goldfish in a pond looking at a monkey and thinking, “I am never going to climb that tree; I’m just a failure.” Yes, you might not be meant to climb that tree, but your purpose might be to create a whirlpool in your bowl. So, don’t compare yourself to other people, just remember that God has a purpose for you and it will be good for you. God has greatness set for you. Remember that you are destined for greatness, regardless of what greatness may look like.

Do you have old family keepsakes or traditions that you like?

I have two; one describes the relationship I have with Mrs. Moreno, and the other follows the theme of Thanksgiving.

The first is my family’s tradition of naming the first girl Melissa. The tradition started with my grandmother and her sister, both of whom named their first-born daughters Melissa. Thus, my great-aunt’s daughter was Melissa-Mary (with Mary being the name of my grandmother). Then, my grandmother named my mother, Melissa-Elaine (where Elaine was the name of my great-aunt). The tradition continued with my mother, who named me Melissa-Megan, and it will continue on and with my generation when I have a girl. The second tradition began when I was in 1st grade during Thanksgiving. At the time, I had a loose tooth and was enjoying my grandmother’s stuffing, which is the bomb. Somehow, a penny ended up in the stuffing and found its way to my plate. All of a sudden, I take a bite of something hard, and out comes the penny and tooth. I immediately thought, “Well, that tooth is finally gone, and, hey, a penny.” From then on, we always put a penny in the stuffing. Fortunately, only one person has ever swallowed it so far.

What is your favorite thing to see in a student that you teach?

I would have to say that my favorite quality to see in a student is determination. At the end of the year, I love to see the academic growth that happens in a student who says, “I don’t understand this, but I am not going to give up.” It is fantastic to see the growth in every student and to see them say at the end of the year, “Ms. Moreno, the weaknesses I had at the beginning of the class are my strengths now.” I see my students as my peers, and in every one of them I see the possibility of greatness, so it is wonderful to see them exceed through hard work in my classes. The end of the year is a bitter-sweet time for me, as I am seeing the potential for greatness in every student and also the possibility of never seeing them again. Being an AP Calculus teacher, many of my students are seniors, and, thus, I am constantly in tears in July and August as I know I will never again see many of my students. However, I am hoping that that one of these days, I will see their name in the news after they cured cancer or something similar. The reason I love my job is that I am able to get to know my students and see their success stories in action. I know that whenever they have the smallest success, I am cheering for them, thinking, “They got an A!!” For example, one of my students this past week swore they were terrible at math, but that same week they completed a flawless free-response test. After inputting the grade, I messaged them and said, “Have you seen this grade!!!?” Although they had probably not seen it, as I had just entered it, it was a great opportunity to celebrate with my student. When that happens, I get so excited and I just want to show all of you how great this really is!

Do you have a mentor or a person that you look up to now or in the past, and why do you look up to them?

Because I know who I want to be as a person, and I know who I want to be like in my career, I have many mentors. However, when people asked me, “If money wasn’t an issue, what would your ideal career be?” I always answered by saying that if I ever retired from ministry, I would want to be a teacher. Well, God decided that after I earned my bachelor’s degree, I would become a teacher. So, the pinnacle of my ambition in my career became my starting career.

The desire to be a teacher was influenced greatly by my mother. Growing up, I watched her teaching and inspiring many, many people while she taught math. Then, I would watch her students go off and be very successful in the world and say, “I made it this far because Melissa Moreno said I could.” Seeing my mother’s students go on to do great things, I knew that I wanted to make that kind of impact on the world. I wanted people to say, “I made it this far because Ms. Megan Moreno said I could.” Thus, my mother is still my role model when it comes to having a purpose in life.

However, my late grandfather was my role model when it came to being honorable. He worked in the navy on airplanes, and throughout his life, he always followed the core values of the military: courage, honor, and commitment. He would always say, “Whatever you say, your word is you. Whatever you do, if you don’t stick to your word, people are going to think you are unreliable and fake.” It is your word and your actions that speak louder than what you say about yourself. Both he and my father worked in the navy and lived by that code. They always insisted, “You are by your word, you are by your work, and what you are by what you produce and show to the world.” Furthermore, it is important to remember to do everything unto the Lord, not unto man. If you do everything unto the Lord, people will look at you and say “This is for real; we are going to take you seriously. We are going to value what you say and what you do because you understand what is important.” However, if you do everything unto man, you are going to stress over it and you will appear fake. For example, I have noticed that I get stressed and cut corners when I am doing something only for man. However, if what I do is unto the Lord, I think, “I’m not going to cut corners on this.” Thus, my grandfather and father have always been my roles models when it comes to remaining honorable.

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That completes this week’s interview! However, do you want to be a part of these interviews, too? If so, you can! Respond on FirstClass in the Navigator Jabber with a question for next month’s interviewee, and you might get featured in the next article!