Having begun her teaching career fall of 2008 in MCPS, Michelle George has always had a passion for teaching math, and couldn’t imagine it any other way. “I can’t see myself in another classroom,” George said.
She started at Ridgeview Middle School and was there for six years before making her way over here, where she has spent 12 years. “For six years I was at Ridgeview middle school, which feeds into QO High School,” George said.
George has taught a multitude of math classes and is currently teaching AP statistics, honors statistics and financial mathematics. However, statistics is her favorite subject to teach. “I’m so passionate about statistics. …[they’re] fun and they’re applicable to real life,” George said.
During the early years of being a teacher here, she taught statistics and math modeling (SAMM). Looking back on this, she credits that class for being the reason she enjoys statistics, since she used to not be particularly keen on it. “I was not [passionate] when I was in college, but when I started to teach SAMM, when I came here, I realized statistics were fun,” George said.
George realized her love for teaching during her junior year of high school when she was taking both calculus and physics, when she would help her peers better understand the material. George said, “I started helping my friends and other people, and I realized I enjoyed that, and that gave me the desire to really want to do that as a living.”
She also attributes her enthusiasm toward the subject to her teachers who were “phenomenal.” George was also a prodigy when it came to math, so this combination opened the door to her passion for math. George said, “I was always really good at math. I was always good in science. I always enjoyed those subjects, and then being able to learn from really good teachers… really made me decide that this was my career.”
From then on, George narrowed into the subject and kept her eyes locked in on that. She went to Slippery Rock University located in Pennsylvania to further her education. George said,“I did a bachelors, I majored in math and minored in physics. And then I did an additional master’s program that was in secondary education.”
This passion for helping others grasp the subject matter has lasted, since she believes one of the most memorable parts about being a teacher is seeing students succeed. “I love connecting with my students and seeing the light bulbs go off,” George said.
Her spiritedness extends beyond the math classroom, as she is a devoted Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins fan and often watches football on the weekends. Along with this, she has hobbies such as arts and crafts and is currently working on a crochet project George said, “I spend a lot of Sundays watching football and grading.”
