14 February 2013
MATH: An old teacher comes back to help Poly out of a bind.
By Tyler Demshki, Staff writer
Poly has seen many teachers come and go. But it has seen fewer leave and then come back, even if only for a moment.
In the absence of Curtis Cochran, Roslyn Jones has done just that. Because of her heavy involvement in the formation of the AP Statistics course, Jones was asked by Poly’s administration to come back temporarily and teach the class until a more permanent teacher is found. Jones agreed to do so, and thus came to Poly as a long-term substitute teacher just after finals. However, this arrangement did change slightly, and Jones ended up taking on not just the two AP Statistics courses, but also two Algebra I courses and one Honors Algebra II course, all of which she will continue to teach for an indefinite period of time, though no longer than this year.
When asked about her reasons for coming back, Jones cited her involvement with the Statistics course and her love of teaching as her main reasons. Her connection to the students was also a factor, as she has some of her previous students enrolled in her adopted classes.
While Jones does like the actual instructing part of her job, being a teacher is rarely as simple as that. Teaching entails long periods of time grading papers and molding one’s schedule to that of the school’s. No longer can she leisurely get a haircut at 10:00 a.m. or take her time to read the newspaper. These parts of teaching were not much missed.
Though she had to give up her newfound leisure time, Jones did indeed come back to help Poly’s math department out of a bind and to aid new and former students. So, while she may be back sporadically for some short-term substituting, make sure to stop by and give Jones a “hello” if you are a former student. She will appreciate the acknowledgement.