Rose Sosa: Teaching students to celebrate math success

Rose Sosa believes teaching is a calling, not just an occupation, and as such dedicates herself completely to her role as an educator and truly believes in each and every one of her students.

Rose Sosa, a teacher at Anderson Academy, has been teaching for nearly 40 years and has always felt that she was born to teach. As a child, she would teach her peers at recess, make handouts and give them prizes. Becoming an educator has been her goal from the very beginning.

Always looking for ways to improve and enhance her own knowledge, Rose frequently attends training, and values conversations with other educators, where she enjoys brainstorming and learning from her colleagues. That said, Rose says she learns from her students, too.

As a teacher, Rose strongly believes in the power of hands-on activities and finds peer tutoring and group work immensely beneficial for her students. Incorporating fun elements into her teaching, Rose plays music, dance and games to ensure students feel enthusiastic and involved in their learning. Ultimately, Rose wants her students to walk away believing that math is their favourite subject.

Always seeking to empower and encourage her students, regardless of the level they achieve, Rose celebrates math success with her students. Rose understands that it is important that students feel good about themselves and identify their own growth.

An example of this philosophy in action is seen in Rose's dedication to a struggling student who had both behavioral and academic issues. When he started in Rose's class, he was achieving 20% on tests, but Rose identified his potential and understood he just needed to be nurtured and encouraged. With Rose's guidance, this student achieved 85% on his Star test and started concentrating better in class. For Rose, those are the moments that teaching is all about.

Rose says that while often educators talk about setting high expectations for students, teachers need to look inward and make sure that they are setting high expectations for themselves, too.