Mrs. Shea is a 9th grade algebra teacher at Sunlake, and just a year ago she was a middle school math teacher. As a student who had her in 8th grade and now 9th grade, I wondered why she decided to move schools, especially since they were so close to each other.
Mrs. Shea is a beloved teacher to many students; she graduated from Harvard and National University to pursue her career as a math teacher. She has now been teaching for seven and a half years, and her skills in math have helped many students learn the mechanics of Algebra. 2024-2025 is the first school year she is teaching at Sunlake High School. Before that she used to work at Rushe Middle School.
Ms. Shea states the reason she wanted to switch schools. “I have 3 daughters and all three are in high school, so it is nice to be close to them and share activities with them, like Graduation. I missed the longevity of high school. It’s hard to meet students in 8th grade and send them off for the rest of life wondering how they turned out. Now I get to see and experience life with them for 4 years. My work bestie also left so it was a good time to change.”
When asked if she would ever return to teaching middle school or begin teaching in elementary school, she stated why she probably would never. “I really miss my middle school teacher friends, and how much of a family we were. I don’t really have teacher friends at the High School, people tend to keep to themselves! I don’t think I would go back though. 8th is the lowest I would ever teach.” As much as Mrs. Shea enjoyed teaching middle school, she believes teaching High School can bring her expertise to the apex.
“I enjoy upper-level math.” She revealed, “I could not go back to explain 1+1 or fractions. I need the challenge and it’s nice to teach students who want to be there. I would love to get back to teaching Algebra 2. It’s more of a choice.”
Luckily for her, it wasn’t difficult landing a job as a teacher at Sunlake. “They are always in need of teachers in Florida.” says Shea, “It’s also nice for students to see a female math teacher.”
In her few months of teaching Mrs. Shea has had some problems with the freshman she is trying to enlighten with her knowledge. She relays her biggest struggle when teaching the adolescence. “Behaviors. Freshman are still so immature and do not see how their decisions are affecting their future.”
Many students find it difficult to focus on subjects they despise because they don’t understand how to do it. It gets frustrating for teachers to try and help these students when they are stuck in the mindset of, “I was born stupid. There is no reason to try and change that now.”
Fortunately, Mrs. Shea’s calm and uplifting demeanor has helped students steer themselves onto the right path for the rest of their young and hopefully future lives.
