A wall decorated with numerous black and white photos of individuals, with some color photos and signs indicating senior classes, all inside a room with large windows and a brick and drywall wall.

Unhinged Math Teacher *Stuff*

Once you’ve been teaching math for long enough,

and you accept that this is your path forward and you decide that you are not going to change careers for the foreseeable future, I think you naturally start to morph into the unhinged math teacher and truly own it. You no longer worry about students’ perception of you, and you look for ways to bring energy and a little bit of crazy into the classroom.

A black and white driver's license featuring a photoshopped face of a woman with dark hair. The license shows the name Einstein, with a birthdate of 06/03/1997 and address at 892 Momona St. The license includes a barcode and various personal details.

This year’s group of seniors, C/O 2025-26, left a lasting impression and mark on my room with the decorations they gave me. I have been testing students’ Derivative skills and creating Deriver’s Licenses when they earn their license for years now (see blog post HERE about this process). For the first time this year, my students created a Deriver’s License for ME! I’m not sure where they found this amazing side-eye photo of me, but regardless, this is now proudly displayed by my desk :)

A child holding a license to derive, showing a photo and a list of restrictions, issued by Ms. Caroline Rossi, at South High Community School in Worcester, MA.
A poster featuring a woman with curly blonde hair, wearing a black blazer and a golden tie, with a red and white background. A red banner with the text 'O!DER' and the phrase 'Yoo-LEER' is visible. To the right, there is a black-and-white photo of children, and on the left, there are several color-coded charts on the wall.

The senior class of 2025-26 delivered AGAIN on their last day of high school ever when they presented me with my very own flag: with me depicted as Newton, on an Austrian flag background (I love that they remembered my family lives there!), with the class’ running joke about their mispronunciation of Euler’s name (How many times did I have to say, “It’s OIL-er, NOT YOU-ler!”). Again, how they found another side-eye photo is beyond me, but it’s impressive.

Two students holding a red and white flag with a portrait of a historical figure and text, standing in a classroom with other students, teacher, and colorful artwork on the walls.
Classroom filled with students seated at tables, a teacher standing near a whiteboard, classroom decorations including colorful hanging paper crafts and origami birds, and a posters on the walls.

Ahhh, this day will live in infamy. That time I wore a 6-7 shirt on the 67th day of school, which just so happened to be the same day our school brought in professional photographers to get updated photos of our students. Not only did they take photos, but they also filmed and created a video compilation of numerous students and teachers - I can’t believe I’m wearing a 6-7 shirt during the part where I feature in that video.

A woman with long brown hair smiling and gesturing with her hands, holding papers in one hand, in a room with a bulletin board covered with photos in the background.
A whiteboard with 18 black-and-white photographs of a smiling young girl arranged in a heart shape. Letters and numbers are written in the center of the heart.
A black and white photo of a child with a mask, seemingly angry, sitting in a chair indoors.
A closet shelf with spray bottles, a container of cotton swabs, packs of tissues, a photo of a woman making a silly face, a box of STAEDTLER colored pencils, plastic bags with measuring tapes, blue folders, and other miscellaneous items.

The senior class of 2024-25 really went all out for this one. I had to leave school for four weeks starting the second week of May, right before the AP exam. I came back before the end of the year, but after the seniors’ last day, so I never got to see them again in class. To make my return to school special, they made what seemed like 200 copies of a photo of me taken by a student right before Christmas break. I look completely ridiculous in the photo, which makes it even more perfect for this prank. They hung this photo ALL over my room, some as displays on the board, some on the windows, and many more hidden throughout my room for me to discover later on. I just recently found one hidden under my desk almost a year later! I took many of them down, but I will probably never take down the ones taped on my window (see photo at the top of this page). They serve as a perfect sun shade and it makes me smile every time I look at it.

Group of six people standing inside a school corridor, all wearing matching black and blue shirts with the number 67 and a hand symbol, likely teachers or staff celebrating the 67th day of school.