‘Math’ made in heaven
Manteca High math teacher Cynthia Valdez, shown here working through a math problem on the whiteboard in Room 71 on Jan. 9, 2023, graduated as a Buffalo in 2016. She is in her first year back on campus. (Diego Esparza/The Tower)
The Tower
When Cynthia Valdez walks the floor of her classroom, she does so with familiarity and empathy.
After all, the math teacher is not that far removed from being a wide-eyed student pressed to the edge of her seat at Manteca High School.
Valdez graduated in 2016, accepting her diploma from former principal Frank Gonzales, and then embarked on an educational journey in the Bay Area. She received her bachelor’s degree from Cal State East Bay in Hayward in the spring of 2021, majoring in mathematics. She remained on campus and completed her teaching credential a year later.
Valdez went to college thinking she’d explore a career in a laboratory but changed directions thanks to a stint as a teaching assistant.
“I realized I wanted to give teaching a try,” she said.
Valdez landed her first teaching job in Oakland at ARISE High School in the fall of 2021. She later interned at Escalon High before returning home to Manteca High, where the transition from student to teacher hasn’t been easy. Valdez says the hardest part was establishing a new identity in the eyes of her colleagues and peers, many of whom met her as a shy, introverted student.
“At first I felt like a student,” she said. “The campus monitors treated me like a student. It felt weird and uncomfortable since I was always shy, especially in high school.
“My first week teaching I stuttered a lot and was overall awkward since I felt like I was a student here again. It took me a while to gain my confidence back and the spark from college and feel like an actual teacher. I also think it's really cool that I get to hang out with my favorite high school teachers and have a different relationship now as coworkers.”
The Tower spoke with Valdez about returning to Manteca High School and cutting her path in the world of mathematics.
The Tower: What made you want to become a math teacher?
Cynthia Valdez: I always liked math since the first grade. I still have math books since first grade.
TT: How do you ensure your lesson fits within the allotted time?
MHS + Valdez = Good Math
Buffalo alum Cynthia Valdez has returned to her home campus as a math teacher. She enjoys the connections she’s able to make with the students on campus.
(Diego Esparza/The Tower)
CV: My students don’t like notes, so I try not to include too many notes. I usually try to do 30 minutes of notes, with an activity or assignments.
TT: What skills are needed for geometry? What skills are used for geometry?
CV: You need to have a foundation in Algebra so if you can’t solve for X, and if you don’t know your shapes, it’s going to be hard to solve the problems because there are a lot more word problems. … You need to be good at proofs. There is a lot of theorems, and if you don’t understand how to read math, you’re going to struggle a lot.
TT: What do you consider the most challenging aspect of being a teacher?
CV: Balancing everything. There are times I stay until 8 p.m. to finish grading work, talking to students about missing assignments or class work, and students’ parents.
TT: Why did you decide to return to Manteca High to teach?
CV: I used to teach in Oakland, and I loved it. I loved the students, and the environment. But it was far away from home, so the second half of the semester I started commuting and that really sucked. Then I went to Escalon to teach and didn’t like it. So, I realized I needed to find something like Oakland but more local. I like being engaged with my students, going to their games, and talking to them one on one. When I saw that Manteca posted a position, I reached out to an old math teacher, and he got me in.
Manteca High sophomore Jayden Scarver contributed to this report.