“I don’t like math,” said geometry and AP Statistics teacher Suzanne Stevens.

For Stevens, the motivation to teach math instead comes from her enjoyment of helping others. Stevens found her spark for teaching while helping her peers in college understand a subject that she already knew well. This love of helping others grasp concepts and do well in subjects they may not enjoy is what led her to become a teacher.

“I never liked math. I hated math in high school. I went to college and said, ‘I’m going to take the easiest math I could possibly take in my whole life so I can get it over with,’” said Stevens.

Pursuing her passion for teaching, Stevens taught at many places before coming to PHS. Beginning her career in New York, Stevens went on to teach at Robbinsville High School, South Brunswick High School, and the Princeton University Preparatory Program. Ultimately, PHS drew Stevens’ attention because of the freedom that both teachers and students have in teaching and learning.

“The administration lets you run your classroom the way you want to run your classroom. Students are held to a high standard, but also given some freedom, which is really nice, and it seems to be a good blend that works,” said Stevens.

Stevens recognizes that many students struggle with learning math from equations written on a board.

“I try to do all hands-on stuff ... My philosophy of teaching is that I give you an activity or you try something and figure it out, and then you get to the main idea ... there’s exploration and discovery which translates better into recall and processing, but ... the actual experience helps in recall later,” said Stevens.

Learning through exploration allows students to remember concepts through hands-on application, rather than terminology they may have a hard time remembering.

Stevens believes that though students may not believe in their own ability to understand something, they can still learn it. All they need is someone to put in the effort to make the content accessible to them.

“I like helping people recognize they could do something. If someone took the time to explain something in a way that was understandable ... they were able to get it, and it was amazing to help people do that,” said Stevens.