Editor’s note: Following is a question-and-answer feature to highlight educators in the Philomath School District. This installment features Jodi Moade, math teacher at Philomath High School.
1. Where did you grow up?
“Junction City, Oregon.”
2. How long have you been teaching?
“25 years at PHS.”
3. Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?
“My third grade teacher Mr. Orr, who we lovingly called Mr. Oreo. He genuinely loved his job and made all of his students feel his excitement for learning. Looking back, he was the first to encourage my pursuit of math and I won an elementary math competition that year. Honestly, my high school English teacher was the next most influential, as it was a class that was out of my comfort zone, yet she encouraged me to take on the challenge. She made me a writer despite my natural pull towards math and science.”
4. What made you want to become a teacher?
“I have loved working with kids from a young age. My dad is a retired high school science teacher and my grandfather was a professor at OSU, so it is in my genes.”
5. How have kids changed over your career?
“While kids have maintained the same humor and charisma that comes with the teen years, the attention span and grit required to take on challenges have become harder. The instant gratification of technology has discouraged the skill building of problem solving and working through difficulty. If something is not immediately solved, they now tend to lean towards using ChatGTP and other AI platforms, rather than try another strategy on their own. Students have begun to focus on an answer rather than looking for a process for solving.”
6. What is the most important thing about math you want kids to get from your class?
“The belief they can do hard things. Math has a stigma of being the tough subject and I want them to learn that math is incredibly useful in their lives. Not just the formulas and algorithms, but the challenge of persevering. I teach AP calculus and I tell students that my goal, along with them learning the content of calculus, is to learn how to “learn” new math content. It can be the first class that is sincerely challenging in high school and the ability to tackle hard subjects and become learners is so valuable in not only college, but life obstacles as well. But more than anything, I want students to leave my classroom knowing that I care about them and I believe in them.”
7. If you could change one thing about the current educational system, what would it be?
“For all the decision makers in the world of education, to actually talk to teachers. So many decisions are made about this job that are not from educators. We are not asked our opinions or for suggestions, yet most feel they can tell us what needs to be done for us to do our job better. We are told a lot, but asked very little. We are expected to take on more responsibilities every year. I am expected to teach math…and manners, grit, responsibility, respect, appropriate technology use, social/emotional support, the list goes on. And keeps getting longer every year.”
8. Do you have a favorite memory/anecdote about a kid at PHS?
“A colleague and I recently attended the wedding of a former student that I now consider a great friend. She is a pediatric intensive care physician in California and when meeting her coworkers, they exclaimed “You’re the teachers!” Knowing that we made an impact enough to share with her coworkers, even after all of her time through college, medical school and numerous residencies, meant a lot.”
Ms. Moade is my favorite teacher!