Guest post by KSA Darlene Varga: Linking Past to Present

This guest post is courtesy of Darlene Varga, AIMS Trainer extraordinaire and Kim Sutton Associate.  Darlene is a veteran teacher with more than thirty-eight years of experience teaching and training under her belt, who has presented on math and science at the district, state and national levels. Darlene's passion is for helping teachers and students alike come to love and feel more comfortable with math.

Kim Sutton Associates are highly skilled trainers and coaches from around the United States and the globe who share Kim's vision of making math a more creative, meaningful experience for students and teachers of all ages.  For more information on Kim Sutton Associates, please visit our Kim Sutton Associates page.

I was thrilled to become a KSA.  I knew it was a chance to share Kim’s creative and innovative methods of teaching mathematics with other teachers.  I did not realize it would, also, give me chance to reunite with past parents and fellow teachers. 

The second KSA workshop I presented was in Austin, Texas where I taught more than 20 years ago.  The numbers for the workshop were low, so I decided to share the workshop details with some of my friends on Facebook.  One of my former parents from the 1970’s responded and said she was no longer teaching but would love to come help me out in setting up.  A retired teacher I taught with in Austin invited me to stay with her and she, also, wanted to go to the workshop to help.  Another retired teacher I worked with was subbing at a school in the Austin area and she spread the word to that school about this workshop opportunity.  With her help, the workshop filled to capacity. 

The past parent and the teacher I stayed with came early and helped me set up, insisted on staying for the entire workshop helping with sales, etc. and then helped me pack up.  The teachers that attended (after a long day of teaching) were so involved with the activities and all seemed to leave energized and ready to go back and try out some of the new ideas. 

It was such a special day being able to spend time with a group of dedicated teachers and sharing time with people who were important parts of my early teaching career.  I look forward to more enriching experiences as a KSA.  Thanks Creative Mathematics for giving me this incredible opportunity.

Darlene Varga