Growing up, you probably believed the myth that teachers lived at school – and it was hard to imagine they were once kids. Our beloved math teacher Ms. Arthur told me about her experiences growing up right here in Santa Cruz in Paradise park, which she describes as a hobbit town on the San Lorenzo river.
Before college, she moved to England for a year where she worked as a chicken sexer, which is definitely not what it sounds like. She would look at the wings of three-day-old chickens to determine if they were male or female. But by doing so, she ended up with repetitive stress injury and ended up quitting. Ms. Arthur then
moved to Australia where she was a lab technician while studying to become a teacher. Originally, she hoped to become an English teacher, but after trying out English, Australian History, Math, Sex Ed, and Economics, Math was the best option for her. Ms. Arthur taught in Australia for 8 years before moving back to Santa Cruz.
Now that she teaches in America, she reflected on her time in Australia. Australia was a different teaching experience because the curriculum was skills-based instead of standards-based; this basically means that in Australia, all of the students of a certain grade are required to do a certain skill. For example, all 3rd graders must be able to divide integers up to one hundred. In America, it is standards-based, which means that students of certain grades are required to understand or apply something. For example, all 3rd graders in America must develop an understanding of division between integers. She also enjoyed getting paid a living wage as a teacher: “I was paid more in Australia than I will probably ever be paid in California and that was over ten years ago.”
After living in Australia for many years, Ms. Arthur decided to follow her heart back to her hometown of Santa Cruz. This is where she found a job at PCS, where she pursues her love of math teaching Middle School Math B and Middle School Math A. The best place in Santa Cruz according to her, is where the beach, river, and woods come together. In her free time, she likes hanging out with friends, and enjoying the community of Santa Cruz. I hope you learned something new about Ms. Arthur, or at least enjoyed reading about her past!
