By: Myles Chu, Staff Writer
The last 16 years working at Galileo has been extremely rewarding for math teacher, Ms. Adria Nelson, particularly after working as a mechanical engineer for 3 ½ years, and finding the job unfulfilling and lonely.
After deciding to make a career change, Ms. Nelson started by going back to school to get her teaching credential at SF State, which is how she ended up as a student teacher at Galileo. From the beginning, Ms. Nelson really liked the school and the other teachers at Galileo, which convinced her to stay, and is what has kept her at Galileo ever since. Ms. Nelson said, “I really liked the school and the other teachers here, so I was very happy when I got hired to be a full time teacher at Galileo right after my student teaching.”
Not only does Ms. Nelson enjoy the dynamic she has with other teachers, she also really likes the students too. She says, “I love slowly getting to know my students better throughout the year. I have a lot of respect for how hard most of them work and how unique they are as people.”
Since 2010, she has mainly focused on one section of math, which is AP Calculus (both AB and BC). She has enjoyed teaching the class because of the many lessons both the students and her have gotten from it. She says, “AP Calculus is a difficult subject for many students. But if you are patient and put in time and effort, you will succeed. I have learned how important second and third chances are to students (and all people, really). If I work hard and give lots of opportunities, most students will step up. At the end of the year I am so proud of my students and how far they have come.”
There are, however, both ups and downs to teaching students AP Calculus. While the class can be draining to teach, she still enjoys this subject. She explains that she particularly enjoys the “aha” moments students get when light bulbs click in their minds after figuring out hard problems.
After her years of teaching, Ms. Nelson has some advice she’d give to new teachers just starting out. She says, “ Be patient with yourself and your students. Not everything is going to be perfect, but if you keep trying, those rewarding moments will come!”
