Heather Fuller loves to meet students at their math “struggle” point and help them soar

Heather Fuller is a new math teacher at ARHS who hopes to provide students with the problem-solving skills they need for life.

She teaches Geometry and Algebra I. On a typical day, she hopes to see students engaged in the material and solving problems, with her as their guide. “[In my classroom], there are students talking about math and working with each other, and I’m monitoring conversations, asking, and answering questions,” said Fuller.

Fuller grew up in New York near the Adirondacks, and went to college in Massachusetts. “I went to Boston University and Northeastern for Engineering. More recently, I went to Mount Holyoke to get my master of arts in teaching,” said Fuller.

Fuller was an engineer for 18 years before becoming a teacher. “Engineering is a good job, but it requires a lot of hours, and I had two small children,” she said. “I really liked the problem-solving aspect of it, but not being a manager of people.”

She recognized a lot of people in her life struggled with simple math. “I thought I could become a math teacher and get on the same schedule as my family,” said Fuller.

Her favorite thing about teaching is seeing students in moments of growth. “I like when students get a concept that they didn’t understand. They finally figure something out, something clicks, and then they get more confidence,” she said.

Fuller’s mission as an educator is for students to just know the fundamentals. “I would like people to be more confident in regular math. [To] trust themselves and their problem-solving, because life problems are just like math problems,” she said.

She believes that knowing simple math is what leads to confidence in approaching real-world problems. “I see people who think they’re not cut out for math also struggle with complex problems in life. Getting a mortgage, trying to figure out child care, stuff that you have to stick with to figure out,” said Fuller. “If people had more confidence with math, solving their future life would be easier.”

Fuller taught mostly Calculus with a small slice of Algebra 1 while at Northampton High School. It’s been an easy transition, though, from Calculus to now only Geometry and Algebra 1. “The difference is people choose to be in Calculus class, although some are just there because of their parents,” she said. “But what is similar about them is, for some people, Algebra 1 and Calculus are the first times that they struggle with math. I actually like working with people where they get to the struggle.”

She experienced this herself, but that struggle didn’t come until later. “I was in college the first time I hit any struggle, and I didn’t have any skills to change course. All of a sudden, I had to learn how to study,” she said. “So I like working with kids at their struggle point, because it’s about figuring out strategies to succeed, not just easily breezing through a class.”

Fuller switched from Northampton to Amherst mainly because of her children, who attend the Amherst public schools. “I live in Amherst, and my daughter goes to the middle school so I drive her to school,” she said. “I couldn’t see myself driving to Northampton now. It’s like, ‘Wow, no commute, not driving across that bridge, life is good.’”

These days, Fuller is looking forward to the seasonal change. She is excited for fall, to go apple picking and on hikes in the woods without getting hot and sweaty. In her free time, she also enjoys biking and reading. “I don’t like being hot. I like unscheduled time. I like hanging out with my kids. I don’t like doing paperwork,” said Fuller.

Fuller hopes her students will remember her as someone “who makes math less scary.”

“[I want them to say] that we had a good time in class, because I think math should be fun,” said Fuller.