As she teaches her AP Stats class their newest lesson, students love her quirky personality and fun way of teaching. She’s often seen representing her classes through her fun class shirts she makes every year, this year’s being “the attack of the cones.”

Emily Harris

Emily Sirtak and Sydney Tran, Staff Reporter and Design Editor

Throughout my high school career, I have never had a math teacher that has genuinely helped me until this year. Ms. Harris is the first math teacher I’ve ever been able to understand and relate to. I’ve always had troubles in math and I believe the teacher has a lot of influence. When I’m in Harris’ class, I never feel uncomfortable asking questions and feel comfortable making mistakes and learning from them. As someone who struggles with test anxiety, Ms. Harris has made me feel seen and understood. She’s able to listen to her students and accommodate their needs. In one instance, our class expressed their nerves for the upcoming test and instead of leaving us in our nervous states, she moved the test to the day after in order to spend more time reviewing and easing our nerves. She values understanding much more than cramming and it shows through her ways of teaching. Seeing a math teacher who is truly passionate about math makes me want to learn so I can experience the same wonder she feels about math. Having a math teacher that is genuinely passionate about what they’re teaching has been a wonderful experience. I never thought I would like or enjoy math, but Ms. Harris has shown me how to appreciate it. Thank you so much for teaching me to love and respect math.

-Emily Sirtak

Mrs. Harris,

When you met me I was a wee sophomore. Someone who was unsure of themselves and thought that an A or B was the equivalent of life or death. But after being taught by you for two years, you have helped shape how I thought about myself and realize what was truly important. Being proud of the hard work I put in. Thank you for helping me be able to appreciate my achievements no matter how small they were. Thank you for taking the time to go over my mistakes. You helped me learn from my mistakes and be proud of all the growth I made from beginning to end.

I especially appreciate and thank you for all the support you gave our small Calc BC class online. Thank you for sitting on the floor going through the problems on the whiteboard while your daughter lined up her squishmallows on the floor for all of us to see. I attribute my growth and success to math to your hard work and help.

But most of all, thank you for being my rock. You have been there for the worst 2 years of my life and were constantly supporting me throughout it all. You were the first teacher to reach out and offer a helping hand and for that I am so grateful. Thank you for being such an amazing teacher. You insπre me!

-Sydney Tran