Educator Spotlight with Fawn Nguyen

Meet Fawn Nguyen

What grades do you teach and/or what is your title/role? 

My current role is Math TOSA (teacher on special
assignment) for a K–8 school district. I support math teachers and their
students.

What school, district or institution do you work for? Location?

Rio School District, Oxnard, CA  

What motivates you?

My own three children and my students motivate me.
They are young people whom I get to interact with daily, and it’s a
complete privilege to be a mom and a teacher. I’m here to serve them and
hopefully make some meaningful impact in their lives. As I encourage
and guide young people, I need to follow up and follow through with
honorable actions, take pride in my work and my family, and accept
responsibility for my mistakes. It’s a good cycle to be a part of—I’m
even more motivated when I see growth and resilience in my students,
strength, and humility in my children—this is the stuff that fuels me to
work harder. 

What do you love most about working with students? 

I love their thinking, their ideas! I love the
rawness of their interaction with a new concept. I’m learning that
whatever their solution to a problem is, that’s where they are at. They
have taken previous knowledge and made a connection somehow. Even when
it’s an incorrect solution, it’s the one they have at that moment, and
when we pause to dig deeper into their thinking, it’s always
fascinating. Young students make wonderful mistakes in mathematics! I’m
afraid we move too quickly past a concept when only correct answers are
given. It’s the incorrect answers that we need to take time out to
explore. Math causes so much anxiety because traditionally only the
correct answer shouted out within the shortest amount of time was valued
and applauded in the classroom. I don’t want to be anywhere near that
classroom. I want to teach where students are encouraged to think deeply
and critically. Where there is joy and laughter. In the right
environment, students bring all that. And more.

What’s your math story? In other words, how do you feel about math and why? 

Math is beautiful. But I was never taught that, or I
didn’t see the beauty in mathematics while in school. I knew it was
useful for daily tasks—this utilitarian knowledge will help with
cooking, budgeting, building things. I got good grades in math because I
was a good rule follower. I memorized and regurgitated. It was not
until I un-learned school mathematics that the beauty in mathematics
started coming through. Two times five used to just equal ten. Now, it’s
an array of two by five. I see ten as the fourth triangular number
stacked like bowling pins. Ten is 1010 in base 2. Number patterns are
beautiful. Venn diagrams have symmetry, sometimes rotational symmetry.
Geometric shapes can be stunning. When we see mathematics as something
beautiful, we can truly appreciate and enjoy it. We want to explore and
play with mathematical ideas. I want my students to view math through
this lens. 

If you would like to nominate an educator to be highlighted, please email justinf@mathlearningcenter.org