English teacher Amy Schwarzbach-Kang from Chicago, Illinois, got roped, unwillingly, into teaching a trigonometry class. Over time, the course became her favorite class of the day, she says. Photo Credit: Linked In

Recently I stumbled across an absolutely fascinating story about an English teacher from Chicago, Illinois, who got roped, unwillingly, into teaching a trigonometry class.

“I had always hated math. Now I suddenly found myself teaching trigonometry,” confesses Amy Schwartzbach-Kang. “I was an English teacher in Chicago Public Schools with certification in Special Education, and when my school was facing a shortage of certified Special Education teachers, I was pulled in mid-year to co-teach a junior-level trigonometry class with the math teacher,” she said.

Despite her initial unwillingness, as time passed, trig became her favorite class of the day, Amy reveals. “After spending years teaching English and reading, I was being challenged to move beyond what I had always been doing,” she says. “When you’re new to something, you have a fresh perspective. You’re willing to take risks. You’re willing to try anything because you don’t know how something should be done,” she continued.

So how would an English teacher who hates math overcome her subject-prejudice, successfully teach a course in trigonometry, and even learn to love it? You can discover her ingenious strategy in the article she wrote entitled  Learning Math by Seeing it as a Story. The article was published by Edutopia on March 26, 2019. Check it out!