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After Ashley
Bentley earned two associate degrees from Dalton State, she
enrolled in Kennesaw State University to pursue a bachelor’s
degree in mathematics.
But after the first two days of classes this fall, she dropped
out and returned to her alma mater to pursue the same degree
here.
“During the first weekend of the semester, I heard that Dalton
State was beginning to offer bachelor’s degrees in mathematics,
biology, and secondary education,” says Bentley, 21, of
Chatsworth.
“I wanted to come back and take classes here. It’s closer to
home and I know what kind of education I’ll receive.”
Bentley plans to become a high school math teacher and coach her
school’s soccer team. She hopes to one day teach in a college.
Her love for math began at an early age when she excelled in her
elementary school’s third grade math competitions. Defying the
“girls can’t do math” stereotype, Bentley enrolled in as many
honors math classes at Murray County High School as she could,
ending up graduating fourth in her class.
“Math has always ‘clicked’ for me. It’s like a language unto
itself. I’ve always been able to figure it out on my own.” |
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Recognizing that many
students suffer from “math phobia,” Bentley signed up to be a
tutor in the Math Lab, where she logs in nearly 20 hours per
week.
“When I work with other students, I try to put myself in their
shoes. I break the problem down and look at it as if I’m seeing
it for the first time. I encourage them to try to teach me, and
in the process, that teaches them.”
Bentley believes that to be a math teacher, “you have to be
creative.”
“You can look at a problem all day long, but if you don’t switch
it around and look at it from different angles, you might not be
able to solve it.”
The biggest challenge in tutoring her peers comes when students
are trying to tackle math problems that seem more complicated
than they should be.
“Sometimes they haven’t really mastered the basics, or the
simple first steps of the problem, so they’re not ready for the
more complicated part of it,” she says.
“And some students come in to the math lab with an ‘I hate math’
attitude. I tell them that if they would begin to have an ‘I can
do this’ mindset, they might not struggle with math as much.”
Because of her strong abilities in math and her high grade point
average, Bentley has considered pursuing a degree in
engineering.
“I’ve considered that field, but I can’t help but love what I
love, which is teaching math. I don’t see myself sitting behind
a desk and drawing charts, ordering other people around. I want
to make a difference in other people’s lives. I think I can do
that through teaching math.”
In addition to pursuing certification in secondary math
education, Bentley plans to take steps to become certified to
teach biology as well. And while she wants to begin teaching at
the high school level as soon as she’s certified, she expects to
continue her education in the future by pursuing a graduate
degree in mathematics.
“I feel very lucky. I like what I do, and I know I’ll have a job
doing something that I really enjoy doing.”
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