This year is my second time having Mrs. Obermann for a math class at Arrowhead high school—first trig pre calc and now calc AB. However I will never forget my sophomore year math class.
It was one of those days that wasn't going well and I had a math quiz to take. I felt pretty good going into it, until I sat down at my desk. Staring at the quiz I was lost. My brain was empty—not a single thought came to it about how to do what I was staring down at. That was how the entire period went, even past the bell. She came up to me and asked if I was doing okay, and clearly I wasn't.
I don't know how many times she has let someone retake a quiz, but I think that after having that conversation with me, she understood and felt compassion, and knew what I was really capable of. She allowed me to take it again, this time a true reflection of what I knew, and I wouldn’t have been able to prove it without her empathy.
Mrs Obermann is one of the most honest people you will ever meet, and will always give it to you straight, no matter what. She is always looking out for kids and wants to put them in a situation to succeed.
After her sophomore year math class, I was at a crossroads, unsure what math class to take next. I asked if I could talk to her about it and she was listening intently. She told me that while I could take the next step up and eventually take BC my senior year, she thought it would be in my best interest to go on the path towards Calc AB. That may have been the best decision of my high school career.
Without her, I’m not sure what I would have chosen, but what really pointed me in the right direction was what she said in that conversation. “I’m shadowing the calculus teacher next year, and you could have me again for math your senior year!”
With those words, my decision was made. I knew that she only wanted me to be in a position to succeed, and I trusted she knew what she was doing. I definitely made the right choice.
Calculus is by no means a very enjoyable class, but Mrs. Obermann finds a way to make me look forward to it everyday. She has the rare ability to joke around with us, allow us to be ourselves but also knows when it is time to learn, and does an amazing job balancing the two. She makes one of the hardest classes one of the best.
Looking back throughout my high school career, I had to make a lot of decisions over the years, but choosing that math class may have been the best choice out of all, and it is all thanks to Mrs. Obermann.