Proofs, Patterns, Circles, and Sines: Mrs. Sterr

What subjects do you currently teach? Why did you choose to teach them?

I teach AP Precalculus and Geometry. I chose to teach these subjects because I really like working with the juniors and the freshmen. The freshmen are all coming from different schools, and I feel like I can help them with their organization skills and how to study. Since I teach both [freshmen and juniors], sometimes the students I have for Geometry end up in my AP Precalculus classes, and it’s nice to see how they have changed. I love some of the topics in the course itself, like polar coordinates and graphs.

What do you think is the biggest misconception students have about math?

“Math is hard” is one that’s always there. When students say that, I don’t really believe it. I always tell them I don’t believe it. Math might be challenging, but I think students need to give it a chance. They should think about the question and try the problem on their own. I’ve also heard “I’m never good at math” or “my parents were never good at math,” and I always say that doesn’t have anything to do with them.

How did you get to your position at Stuyvesant?

I actually never applied to my job at Stuyvesant. I started at Bayside High School where I was a student teacher for three years. Since I had the least experience out of all the other teachers, I was excessed and asked to leave. Then, I got hired by Townsend Harris High School, where I worked for a year. Actually, they hired me pretty early, but they told me, “You can only come here in September if we have the money to hire you.” So I didn’t know if I had a job there until maybe two days before the first day of school. Then I was excessed from there as well. Because I live in Queens, I never thought to even apply to Stuyvesant or anywhere outside of Queens. At the time, there was a hiring freeze, so schools could not hire new teachers. They could only hire from the pool of teachers that were excessed from schools. The [assistant principal] of math at the time reached out to me and hired me. I was actually excessed from Stuyvesant too, but then they hired me back that summer. That’s how I ended up here.

Can you tell us a little bit about your younger years? Where did you grow up? What did you love to do as a child?

I was born in Hong Kong, and I came to New York City when I was 11 years old because we had family here. I had to learn English, but math is like a universal language, so from that point on, math was easy to me. Instead of learning English, I learned Mandarin because I was trying to make new friends, but they all spoke Mandarin. In high school, I was in the band and played the trombone. 

Have you always wanted to be a math teacher? If not, then what did you want to do beforehand?

Definitely not. I had no idea what I wanted to be. I always tell my students that when I was in high school, I was very quiet. I was just not confident speaking English, so I was very quiet, and I was one of the students who sat in the back and did the work and prayed the teacher wouldn’t call on me. Teaching in front of a class was something I never thought about. I didn’t really know what career I wanted to pursue when I was graduating high school. At the time, there was a program at Queens College called TIME 2000 (Teaching Improvements through Mathematics Education). They would give you a scholarship and you had two years to decide whether or not you wanted to become a math teacher. I just gave it a try, and that’s how I became a math teacher.

What was your favorite subject growing up? Why?

Math and science, because when I came here, math was the only thing I was confident in, and I really liked science experiments and labs.

If you could go back in time and give advice to your high school self, what would you say?

When you go to college, you should study abroad. I’ve heard of Mr. Sterr’s stories and I thought that would be so cool.

What is it like teaching at the same school as Mr. Sterr?

Because we are in different offices, I actually don’t see him that often. But it’s good because I have someone to talk to. We teach the same things, so it’s good to brainstorm ideas of how to teach certain topics, or just even pacing. We look at each other’s exams sometimes and compare. I do that with other teachers as well, but he’s just always there so I can ask him questions.

Has being a parent changed your perspective as a teacher?

Yes, definitely. My kids are still young, one just turned eight and one is five, going to turn six. I need to do homework with them, so I can feel [students’] pain. I try not to give a lot of homework because I understand that Stuyvesant students’ workload is a lot. 

Fun Questions!

If you could teach any subject besides math, what would it be?

Something science. Maybe science [of] language. I took Spanish in high school just for fun and I speak different dialects of Chinese. I took one semester of Japanese in college as well, so I think teaching science language would be fun.

Favorite TV show, movie, or book?

All of the TV shows I watch are Chinese so Mr. Sterr can practice his Mandarin. For movies, I really like School of Rock. 

Favorite food or restaurant in the city?

Thai food and any restaurant that serves it.

What is your favorite hobby (if you have one)?

I like to travel. Last year, we went to Germany. The coolest thing we did with the kids was a cross-country trip to Seattle. We stopped by a lot of national parks like Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore.